Catch Me If You Can
by fallenangel1115
Summary: (Based off an idea from Tumblr) Dean is a CIA agent trying to catch Castiel, a Russian spy. Eventually, they bond during interrogations and realize something bigger than themselves is going on. Sam and Charlie are agents helping Dean.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

"I'll catch you, I promise that," Dean growled into the phone.

"You can try, handsome," the voice on the other side said before there was a click. He was gone.

Dean hung up and looked around at the guys in the room.

"Did we pinpoint his location?"

"Not exactly, the conversation wasn't long enough, we just know it was a payphone in the San Francisco area," another agent said.

"All right, Chuck," Dean said to him, "Get me on the next flight out there. Sam, call ahead to their branch and give 'em the scoop and let them know we're coming out there."

Dean turned and headed to his office. Covering his desk were papers and folders, so many that you couldn't even see the desk. There was barely anything else on the desk, a single picture frame of Dean, Sam and their late parents, one cup full of pens, a stapler and tape and a name placard that simply read _Dean Winchester_.

Sitting behind the desk, Dean attempted to sort through all his papers. They all centered around the man on the phone, Castiel Novak. He was assuming that wasn't his real name but it was the one he used most often.

Novak was Dean's target, had been for a few years now. He was a Russian intelligence agent and the CIA needed something from him. That was all Dean was told and then he dedicated his life to finding him.

Scooping up most of the papers into a briefcase, the desk looked strangely bare.

"You ready, Dean?" Sam said, poking his head through the door.

"Let's go," he said, hauling the briefcase out the door, hitting the lights and not looking back.

After touching down in San Francisco, a pretty damn long flight from Washington D.C., they head to the local branch of the CIA.

"This sucks, I want my car," Dean whined from the behind the wheel of a rental car. It was still a Chevy Impala, black, but a 2006 model, not 1967.

Sam just rolled his eyes.

"What did he say on the phone again?" he asked.

"He said that he knows I'm trying to catch him, has known the whole time pretty much. And that he was told the same thing, that he's supposed to bring me in. I'm sure he's lying, though, right?"

"Right, has to be," Sam agreed. Why would two spies be sent to capture each other? "How'd he end the conversation?"

"'You can try, handsome,'" Dean sighed. Sam had been recently making of Dean and his obsession with finding Novak and mistaking him doing his work for something else.

Sam laughed.

"Shut up, Sammy," Dean snapped. They reached their destination and he parked the car.

They walked up to the desk, flashed their badges and asked where they could find Agent Charlie Bradbury, who was the one that would be helping out on catching Novak.

"Third floor, it's the biggest office up there, can't miss it," the woman said.

She wasn't lying. Right outside of the stairwell was an office door that read _Charlie Bradbury_ but was also covered in stickers. There were stickers depicting a wide range of likes, including Star Wars, Harry Potter, some video games and a lot of other ones Dean didn't recognize.

He shared a look with Sam and they both shrugged.

As he raised his fist to knock, the door flew open. Standing there was a woman, average height, in a smart, black pantsuit with a vibrant yellow blouse in contrast to her fiery red hair. She smiled broadly, looking at the brothers in turn.

"I'm Charlie Bradbury, you must be the Winchesters!" She exclaimed, sticking her hand out.

"I'm Sam, this is Dean," Sam said. They both shook her hand and Dean was shocked as they walked into her office. It had more decoration than probably any government-related office ever and would probably never be topped. There was a life-size C3PO in the corner, posters for various movies and shows, and huge rainbow flag behind the desk that had about ten bobbleheads.

Most CIA operatives weren't so spunky and expressive. In general, the offices were boring and lame, this office was bright and fun, like Charlie seemed to be.

"We were, uh, expecting…" Dean stammered.

"A man?" Charlie asked with raised eyebrows, but she didn't seem mad. More like bored. That probably happened a lot, unfortunately.

"No, someone more plain, more boring," Dean said honestly. Charlie smiled.

"I'm not your typical agent, no, but I get shit done. So, what's the deal here, how can I help?"

"We're chasing a Russian operative, Castiel Novak. This morning, he called from a payphone with a San Francisco area code, but we couldn't get more specific," Sam explained.

"Basically, we need to find him. Like three years ago," Dean admitted.

"That long, huh?" Charlie teased.

Dean didn't answer, just handed her a couple files with basic information and photos. She immediately set to work on her computer.

"I'm kind of a genius, so I might be able to narrow it down," Charlie said.

Sam handed her a recording of the call. She played it multiple times through, cracking up when Castiel called Dean handsome.

"Don't start," Dean groaned, Sam joining in Charlie's laughter.

By messing with the volume levels, she focused on the background noises for a while.

"Okay, listen to this, guys." She played a clip and a distant freight train whistle could be heard. "I also did some work on the number he called from, your guys must be rookies, I figured out a few more numbers to it," she continued.

"Awesome!" Dean said, smiling now.

"So, with part of the number and knowing the payphone had to be by train tracks, does that help?" Sam asked.

"It helps, but we need more than that, we need…" she was cut short by Dean's phone ringing.

"It's the same number, it's him," Dean said, looking at his phone.

"Let me get a trace," Charlie said, fingers moving furiously over the keyboard. Two more rings and she nodded.

"Hello?" Dean answered, putting it on speaker as well.

"I know you're in San Francisco, Winchester. This should be fun." The familiar voice of Castiel Novak poured in the room. From his picture, he would be hard to guess his voice would be so low.

"Loads. We'll just have to see who the better spy is," Dean retorted. He knew he had to try to keep him on the line longer to pinpoint his location. Charlie was staring at her screen, fingers flying, shaking her head.

Castiel laughed.

"I guess we will." He paused. "Oh, and tell your redheaded friend not to slouch."

_Click._


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

All of their eyes shot to the window of Charlie's office. In the building across the street, a curtain moved, just barely but enough to signal someone was there.

Without thinking, Dean stormed out of the office and flew down the three flights and out the front door. He didn't care if Sam or Charlie followed him, he only knew this was the closest he had been to Novak, ever, and he wasn't letting him go now.

The building was an old four story warehouse across the street. After almost getting by a few cars, Dean burst through the front door and charged in. _There's no way he's escaping, not from in front of a CIA building…_

Dean's train of thought was lost when he saw the bottom of a tan trenchcoat disappear behind a corner to his right. He sprinted in that direction, knowing it was Castiel. Dean had enough pictures of the man in that damn trenchcoat in his files. He must have foiled his escape. _Good, _Dean thought. _I've got you now._

He pulled his gun out of the holster beneath his suit jacket and held it front of his face, pausing against the wall before jumping out and extending his arms, looking right, left and then right again. The door at the end of the hall was still closing. Novak was on the stairs.

He could hear pounding footsteps maybe two flights above him. Willing his legs to move faster, he chased after the Russian spy.

Once on the roof, he was finally face to face with Castiel Novak, his enemy and target. It looked like he had waited for Dean to catch up.

He focused his gun on Castiel, who was standing in a black suit and white dress shirt under the trenchcoat with a blue tie and his dark hair messy and all over. His deep blue eyes were boring into Dean's with a hint of mischief.

"There's no way you're getting out of this, Novak. CIA agents are surrounding the building as we speak," Dean said, assuming that if Sam and Charlie didn't follow him they at least saw where he went and were helping him out. Hopefully.

"Maybe they are and maybe they're not. But I assure you, I am getting out of this," Castiel smirked. Dean was still shocked how low his voice was, rough too. He was also shocked at his confidence. He had his gun on him and there was no more running. Not this time.

Dean stepped forward as Castiel retreated. Back and back towards the edge of the roof.

"There's nowhere to go. I've got you right where I want you," Dean said, now the one smirking.

"I do like the sound of that, honestly," he winked, "but I really must be going." He turned and jumped to the roof on the building to the right, hitting the ground running. Dean got off a few shots, but none where very close.

Taking an extreme leap of faith, and probably stupidity, Dean backed up a few steps and jumped across as well. He hit the surface and rolled, landing not as smoothly as Castiel. He got up and fled across the rooftop.

At the edge of this building's roof was a ladder leading down into an alley. Seeing Castiel climb down it, Dean followed and turned right towards the street, again brandishing his gun.

The street was extremely crowded and he got many stares and scared looks, so he holstered his gun. Looking left and right, there was no sign of the trenchcoated man anywhere.

He lost Castiel Novak.

"You _what?"_ the man on the other line yelled.

"I had Novak and I lost him, sir," Dean admitted, wincing a little at being yelled at right into his ear. It was hard to make this phone call to his boss, Crowley, but he had to keep him updated.

"Well keep looking, Winchester, and fast. Or you'll be looking for a new job!"

"Yes, sir," Dean sighed and hung up. That wasn't the first time that threat had been used but he hoped it would be the last. This man would not make it out of San Francisco, Dean promised himself.

He was with Charlie and Sam in a more high tech room than her office and they were trying to use security cameras to figure where Novak had gone. There were multiple monitors on the wall the size of widescreen TV's where Charlie's work was showing up. She really was excellent with computers.

"So you chased him through a warehouse and across some rooftops?" Sam asked with a small smile.

"Yeah, and?" Dean asked, not sure what his brother meant with the smile. It wasn't exactly a funny situation. "Where the hell were you?"

"You didn't given us time to follow you, Dean. We came into the warehouse but you were already gone and we came outside in time to see you jump off a roof," Charlie said, trying to mediate.

"Pretty awesome, right?" Dean smiled. Sam gave him a bitchface as they got back to work.

"So, the nearest traffic cams and business cameras show him heading, of course, away from the CIA building," Charlie starts, "but then he kind of disappears…" she trailed off.

"What the hell do you mean 'disappeared'?" Dean asked, raising his voice just a little.

"Dean, calm down, we'll get him…" Sam started but Dean interrupted.

"Calm down? How can you, of all people tell me that? You know how much of my life I've poured into catching this son of a bitch," Dean snapped.

"I know, I know better than anyone. We'll just keep looking," Sam said calmly.

Dean let out a deep breath and ran his hand through his light brown, spiky but soft hair.

He trained his insanely green eyes on Charlie. "Show me where we lose him."

A video played on the center monitor, the largest, and it showed the street Dean had been standing on that the alley connected to. There was Castiel, walking calmly down the street, not even glancing to see if Dean is chasing him.

After he is out of view of the camera, Dean assumes another video will appear from another camera to show where he went next. Multiple camera feeds play on the monitors but Novak is nowhere to be seen.

"Can you keep working on trying to find him? We need to grab something to eat and we'll be back," Dean said, throwing a business card next to the keyboard so she'd have his number if she found anything.

"Sure, but bring me back a burger. Peace out," Charlie said, eyes still glued to the many monitors in the room all with multiple cameras in the city.

Dean and Sam both laughed softly at the most informal goodbye out of a CIA agent's mouth probably ever and headed out to find some food.


	3. Chapter 3

Sam and Dean found a diner relatively close to where they left Charlie searching for Castiel.

"So, what if we can't find him? I mean, he could have left San Francisco," Sam stated tentatively as he stabbed some lettuce in his salad.

"I don't know, Sammy. I've been chasing him for years and I don't know what he's going to do next anymore. This is the closest I've gotten and I don't know," Dean answered, defeated. He had hardly touched his burger or fries.

"We'll just have to start again if Charlie doesn't find anything. He'll surface again, he always does."

"Yeah, always just enough to mess with me."

Sam pursed his lips together but wasn't sure what else to say. His brother was opening up to him, which was rare, but he didn't know what to say. Castiel could be halfway around the world or he could be fifteen minutes away. He was the hardest target either of them had to face in their careers and Sam didn't know how to console Dean.

"Look, Dean, I'm sure we'll get him. When have you ever failed?"

Dean managed a small smile but then it disappeared just as fast. Behind Sam, whose back was facing the door, a man got up from a booth and headed to the back of the diner.

_No way, that was not…_

"I got to, uh… I'll be right back…" Dean stammered before leaving the table and heading out of the same back door, leaving Sam dumbfounded to follow the unmistakable trenchcoat outside.

As soon as Dean exited the restaurant, he pulled his gun and looked to his right. He was looking down the barrel of the gun being held by Castiel. He had left Sam to protect him, he knew Novak could be dangerous. It was better to let him deal with the smarty-pants side of things.

They were in the alley behind the diner and it smelled horrible. The men began to slowly circle each other, neither of them lowering their guns or breaking eye contact.

"I knew you'd follow me out here, Winchester," Castiel said with a smirk.

"How'd you find us?" Dean growled.

"Hey, I was in that diner before you two were."

"That's impo- how?" Dean said, furrowing his eyebrows in confusion.

"Oh come on, this was the closest burger joint to your CIA building. It wasn't too hard for me to figure that out and wait. Remember, I'm supposed to be capturing you, too."

They kept circling each other. Dean realized how simple it must have been. Anyone who knew him at all knew his love for burgers. And of course, Castiel would have the same amount of information on him that Dean had on Castiel, files on files. It seemed silly, but maybe it mentioned burgers. It always felt like Dean was chasing Castiel, who simply has been waiting all these years for Dean to get close enough, to trap him.

"So, what now?" Castiel asked. "We're both hunting each other and here we are at a bit of a stalemate."

"You come with me. Now. Or I shoot."

Castiel laughed. "You forget, I have my gun on you as well and I don't think us shooting each other solves anything."

"Yeah, and _you_ forget that I have my brother inside and he's gotta come looking for me eventually."

Castiel shrugged. "Sure, but you two tried already today and how'd that go again?"

Dean glared. Castiel's escape and Crowley's harsh words still smarted. Dean hated to fail.

"Look," Castiel started, "I'm sure we could keep going at this for hours but…"

Castiel was interrupted by the back door opening. The men stopped circling and broke eye contact to glance over, but didn't lower their guns an inch.

"Dean, what…" he froze when he saw Castiel and pulled his gun as well.

"Told ya, Novak. Now, how about you come with us? Nice and easy."

"No thanks, Dean. I don't prefer to do anything nice and easy."

Before either brother could shoot or do anything, Castiel had kicked the gun out of Dean's hand, sending it flying down the alley, and advanced on Sam before he could shoot. Castiel used his hand to knock Sam's arm away before punching him in the face and knocking him over.

Dean ran at Castiel, who side-stepped him and threw Dean into the wall of the diner, dazing him.

Without waiting for the Winchesters to recover and pick up their guns, Castiel took off down the alley.

Back with Charlie, the boys were frustrated and in pain. Twice in one day had to be a new low, a new humiliating record for the entire CIA. Dean didn't bother to call Crowley, not with his ass already on the line for the umpteenth time.

"God dammit, how did he get the jump on us?" Dean asked, holding his arm across his stomach. He was pretty sure he dislocated it. He'd have Sam fix it later.

"Just forget it, okay? We need to find him," Sam groaned, holding an ice pack to his cheek. "What do you got, Charlie?"

They had moved on from the footage from Castiel running away earlier to footage of him running away now.

Charlie was suppressing a smile as she went through the footage while eating the burger they made sure to get her.

"Shut up, Charlie," Dean said halfheartedly. "Just find him."

"Okay, okay. I have footage of him going a few blocks away from you then getting into a cab. I lose him after that but I have the company and plate number. Let me make a call and find out where it took him."

That got Dean and Sam to smile. Finally, something might go right. While Charlie, Sam put Dean's shoulder into place and gave him the ice pack. Dean needed it more, anyways, even if he wouldn't admit it.

After a few minutes, Charlie had what they needed.

"Okay, thanks," Charlie said, hanging up. She turned to them.

"He's headed to the airport, making a run. We need to hurry, let me pull up the airport security cameras, find out where he's going. We could still catch him…" Charlie trailed off, fingers flying like mad as she pulled up videos.

"Here we go… looks like he's going to…" She paused. On camera, Castiel looked up and winked, somehow knowing where the cameras were.

"D.C." Dean said looking at the terminal Castiel was headed to.

He turned to his brother. "We're going home, Sammy."

The one plus of flying home would be Dean could drop off the crappy rental Impala and get his baby back, his precious '67 Impala. Well, and Charlie would be coming with them. As she put it, there was no way she was letting them do this alone, she was invested. Also, the boys wanted her along. No one in the D.C. office could work the magic she could with a computer.

The negative was, of course, flying. Again.

"Man, I hate flying," Dean complained as they drove to the airport.

"Really? Big, tough CIA guy can't handle airplanes?" Charlie teased. Dean glared at her in the rearview mirror as Sam laughed.

"At least I'm not afraid of clowns, Sammy."

It was Sam's turn to glare as they pulled up to the airport.

"Let's catch this son of a bitch," Dean said, exiting the car, hell bent on catching Novak, once and for all.


	4. Chapter 4

Dean, Sam, and Charlie headed to the desk, cutting ahead of everyone trying to buy tickets or check in. They split up to find the person behind the desk who sold Castiel his ticket by showing his picture to make sure they were crashing the right flight.

Dean found the woman who sold Castiel his ticket to D.C.

"Yeah, I recognize him. His passport said 'Dean Winchester'" she said, looking him up on the passenger list.

"Perfect, thank you, uh, Amy…" Dean flashed his gorgeous smile. He wished he could stay and flirt but he had a spy to catch.

Well, there was no doubt Castiel was on this flight and took enough time to mess with Dean and clearly figured Dean would follow him. The flight was leaving in a half hour and had started boarding.

_He must have underestimated how long it would take us to find him, he's probably just sitting on the plane with nowhere to go,_ Dean thought.

He grabbed Sam and Charlie and the chase was on. Pushing through all of the startled people, they stormed in the direction of the terminal Castiel would be at.

They flashed their CIA badges to pass security despite the yells from all of the travelers. It was a large airport and they passed a lot of people as they headed across the airport. Ten minutes later, they were there, catching their breath, at the desk of the terminal.

"We need to get on that plane," Dean demanded.

The flight attendant pursed his lips. "Really? What for?" he said snidely.

They all flashed their badges. "That's why, chuckles. Now, move," Dean said roughly.

They pushed past him and other confused flight attendants and they boarded the plane. It was set to take off in about twenty minutes now.

Scanning every face, Novak wasn't here. Dean got to the end of the plane and walked back down the aisle, re-checking everyone.

He shook his head when he got back to Sam and Charlie at the front of the plane and they got off. Back in the waiting area of the gate, a phone was ringing with an unfamiliar ringtone.

The three agents looked at each other. It didn't belong to any of them, but there was no one else around.

Dean reached in his leather jacket's pocket and pulled out a disposable phone he had never seen before. He looked up, shrugged, and flipped the phone open.

"Hello?"

"Dean, good to hear your voice," Castiel said. Dean could hear the smirk.

"Novak," Dean growled. Sam and Charlie raised their eyebrows.

"I'm guessing right now that you're standing in an empty terminal with your partners, wondering what flight I'm on if I'm not on the one to D.C and how you have this phone."

He nailed it but Dean wouldn't admit that so he said nothing.

"Well, I bought a ticket in your name to throw you off but I had another ticket. I am on that plane now so I'll have to hang up soon. Oh, and you walked past me in the airport about, oh…" Dean could tell he was sarcastically checking a watch, "seven minutes ago. Like I knew you would. So I planted a phone on you."

"Listen to me, you son of a bitch. I will still catch you, no matter what city you are flying to. I promise I am right behind you."

"And I will tell _you_ again, handsome, you can try. I've always loved the chase," Castiel said and then hung up.

After relaying the conversation to his partners, they quickly headed to where security had their cameras.

They knew when he entered the airport and used the time to track him through the airport to find out that Castiel had gotten on a plane for Chicago. Checking the time at the gate as he boarded, they learned they flight should have just taken off.

"Can you check to see if the flight left?" Dean asked the security officer who had helped them.

He made a quick call and told them it was too late.

"All right, we need to get on the next flight out there. Let's go," Dean commanded and they headed back to the ticket counter.

"Dean, think about this for a second," Sam said as they walked.

"Think about it? We're running out of time. We need to get him," Dean snapped, not breaking his stride.

Charlie looked between the brothers, not sure what to say.

Sam could tell Dean wasn't going to give up and sighed.

"Lead the way."

Back at the ticket counter, Dean shoved past everyone again and bought three tickets to Chicago from Amy, who he would be sad to leave in San Francisco.

Landing in Chicago, the three of them headed to the security area of O'Hare International to try and find where Castiel was off to. Again, they found him getting into a cab and Charlie made a simple call to find where it took him.

"Thanks," Charlie said, hanging up. "He's headed to a hotel downtown, let's go! This is so exciting!"

Sam and Dean didn't quite share her sentiment but followed her outside to pile into a cab and follow Novak into downtown Chicago.

If Dean knew Castiel at all by now, he figured he would be in a ridiculously fancy hotel. Dean wasn't sure how he had the money but he figured it was through something illegal.

Once they finally arrived at the hotel, which was indeed fancy, they stormed to the front desk.

The trio confidently displayed their badges to the man behind the desk and the same picture of Castiel they showed at both airports.

Before answering, the man eyed Dean up and down, making him flustered to the bemusement of Sam and Charlie.

"Yes, I remember him. Such stunning eyes, this deep, deep, blue…" the man trailed off in thought.

"Great, but we need a room number. And a key," Sam said.

The concierge handed the key to Dean, saying "Room 334" with a wink.

In the elevator, Sam looked sideways at Dean with a small smile.

"Sam, we really don't have time for that, okay?"

"Time for what, to talk about that guy totally checking you out?" Charlie asked.

"Yes, that. We're in the same building as Castiel, who I've been after for three years," Dean rebutted.

"Yeah, because you have no game," Sam said with a full grin.

Dean shoved past them both as the elevator reached the third floor. He pulled his gun and reached Room 334, Sam and Charlie in tow with guns drawn as well.

They nodded and Dean readied the key, slid it in and out, and pushed the door open.

The room was dark as Dean stepped in but before Sam and Charlie could follow, the door slammed shut, the key still in Dean's hand.

"Hello, Dean."


	5. Chapter 5

It was still dark in the room, but Dean could tell Castiel was behind him. He turned to face the door with his gun hopefully pointed at Castiel, just waiting for a reason to shoot him.

The lights flicked on.

Castiel also had his gun trained on Dean. Sam and Charlie pounded on the door, yelling for Dean.

"It's fine, go to the lobby," Dean called back, not breaking eye contact from Castiel's eyes. The concierge didn't lie, they were beautiful. The noise in the hall stopped.

"Well, here we are again," Castiel started. The two men didn't circle each other this time, just walked backwards into the hotel room. It had a bathroom, bedroom, small living room and a kitchenette and eating area. Everything was classy and clean, the opposite of the rooms Dean was used to.

"Yeah, only this time, I'm bringing you in. It's about time, too," Dean countered.

"Years. But it's been fun. Remember that time in Barcelona?" Castiel asked.

Dean did remember and he dropped his gaze for a second as he recollected the memory. Castiel had dropped off a napkin while Dean ate at a café with a hotel name and room number and Dean went. He figured it was a trap but that he could outsmart Castiel. He was wrong, it wasn't Castiel's room but the room of a couple on their honeymoon and Dean had barged in on them.

Castiel smiled and lowered his gun just a little. "It hasn't been all bad, Dean. Why are we even doing this, chasing one another?"

"I'm doing my job, same as you."

"Now, I don't even know what that means anymore. Why would the CIA want me?"

"I don't know, come with me and we'll find out."

At that, both men charged. Dean attempted to headbutt Castiel in the stomach but Castiel grabbed his head and slammed his face into his knee.

Dean staggered back and wiped some blood from his nose. Now, they began to circle each other for a few steps until Dean finally faked right and swung left, clocking Castiel right under his eye.

Dean swung again and again into Castiel until he was kneeling over him, two legs on either side of Castiel's stomach. With one last punch, Castiel was knocked out cold.

Sam and Charlie were waiting in the lobby, looking over at the elevator every time it opened when finally Dean came out, dragging an unconscious and handcuffed Castiel behind him.

Dean's nose was still bleeding heavily but Castiel was the worse for wear. Dean's knuckles were bloody from where they had pounded into Castiel's face and stomach.

"Let's get driving," Dean stated simply.

"What about him?" Sam asked, jerking a thumb in Castiel's direction. "We can't exactly take him in a cab with us, Dean."

"So, we borrow a car," Charlie suggested.

"We're CIA agents, we can't steal a car!" Sam protested.

"Relax, Sammy. She said borrow," Dean said, smiling at Charlie and switching Castiel to a fireman carry over his shoulder.

In the lot, Dean picked the most classic car he could find, an old Mustang, despite Sam's pleas for a more eco-friendly joyride.

With Castiel snug in the trunk, the trio headed towards Washington D.C.

"Yeah, Chuck, it's me, get Crowley," Dean spoke into his phone as they drove through the night. "I don't care about a meeting, this is worth it."

After a momentary pause, Dean had to pull the phone away from his ear because of Crowley screaming. Charlie and Sam could hear him easily. Hell, Castiel probably could too, from the trunk, if he was conscious.

"HOW DARE YOU PULL ME FROM…"

"It's about Novak, sir, I've got him. He's with us and we're heading to D.C. right now," Dean said with a smile, despite being yelled at. This was the biggest moment in his career.

"About damn time. We'll be eagerly awaiting to welcome home our prodigal son," Crowley drawled then hung up. Dean didn't mind the rudeness, sarcasm or abrupt goodbye. Nothing could sour his mood.

_"Ninety-nine bottles of beer on the wall, ninety nine bottles of beer, take one down, pass it around, ninety-eight bottles of beer on the wall… Ninety-eight…"_

Dean spoke too soon.

"Is he serious?" Dean asked. Clearly, Castiel had a death wish if he was going to be singing that entire song from the trunk of the "borrowed" car. They didn't think to gag an unconscious guy.

Dean could only tolerate it until ninety bottles when he pulled over. They were on some forested, lonely highway in Ohio somewhere and it wasn't somewhere most normal people would want to stop.

Putting the car in park and getting out of the car, Dean was about to beat Castiel even more.

He popped the trunk to find a grinning Castiel who was awkwardly on his side, his hands still cuffed behind him. He didn't stop singing and was now at eighty-eight.

"You're going to shut up or I'll beat you even more, you got it?" Dean demanded but to no avail. If anything, Castiel's smile was wider and he was singing louder.

While Dean took a moment to close his eyes and pinch the bridge of his nose in a vain attempt to fight off a headache, Castiel subtly shifted and while still singing, shot his feet out directly in Dean's stomach.

He stumbled back and Castiel hopped out of the trunk and sprinted into the woods. Dean recovered quickly and ran after him, yelling for Sam over his shoulder.

Castiel couldn't run as fast as Dean with his hands behind his back but he was zig-zagging through the forest making it hard for Dean to catch him. Well, harder. Eventually Dean caught up and tackled him from behind onto the ground landing hard on top of him.

"Well, you're getting rough. Handcuffing and tackling me?" Castiel smiled, despite being recaptured.

"Shut up," Dean growled. Sam caught up and helped Dean drag Castiel back to the car.

Dean stuffed a grease-stained cloth into Castiel's mouth so he would be quiet before slamming the trunk again.

As they drove, Sam clearly wanted to say something.

"What, Sam?" Dean demanded.

"Nothing, it's just…"

"No, not nothing. You haven't shut up since San Francisco. You obviously have something to say. So say it."

"Well, Charlie and I just… we were talking…"

"Oh, you're in on this, too?" Dean asked, looking at her in the rearview mirror. "Talking about what?"

"It's about your relationship with Castiel," Sam started but was interrupted.

"Relationship? There is no relationship, he's my target and I finally caught him. After we get information from him…" Dean paused. He wasn't sure what would happen to Castiel, whether he talked or not.

"You care about what happens to him," Sam stated, noticing his brother's hesitation.

"I mean, I don't know even know what we're questioning him about, Sam. He might not have done anything, we could just need information from him," Dean said, avoiding what Sam said.

"Crowley never told you why you were chasing Castiel for all of those years?" Charlie asked.

"Nope and I didn't ask," Dean said, keeping his eyes on the road.

"How could you not ask? There has to be a reason the CIA needs Novak, Dean. You weren't curious?" Sam wondered.

Dean glanced at Sam. "I was, but it wasn't my place to ask."

"This case took up your life, consumed you, of course you could ask! What do you call following Crowley blindly?" Sam said, slightly raising his voice.

"It's called being a good agent, Sam," Dean defended himself. Sam had never pried so much into this case, he always had cases of his own.

Neither of them said anything. Charlie kept quiet, still not comfortable enough with the guys to join the argument.

They kept driving towards Washington D.C. in silence.


	6. Chapter 6

The rest of the trip was tense but uneventful. Castiel stayed quiet in the trunk and the other three were mostly quiet, any conversation was simple small talk.

Back in D.C., the first stop was getting Dean's car. They drove the "borrowed" vehicle to the CIA headquarters and found the Impala right where Dean had parked it early yesterday morning.

"Oh, are you a sight for sore eyes, baby," Dean smiled, running his hand up the hood towards the driver's side door.

"Aren't you forgetting something?" Sam asked.

"What?" Dean asked, still staring at the car.

"Castiel? He's still in the trunk," Charlie said, pointing at the Mustang.

"Right. Well, let's move him over here. Sam, move some of the crap from the trunk into the backseat," Dean ordered before unlocking the Mustang's trunk.

"I'm hungry," were the first words out of the enemy spy's mouth when Dean removed the gag to tell him they were moving him.

"Yeah? Tough. We got somewhere to be," Dean snapped. True, they drove all night and it was actually lunchtime and he was hungry himself. But that didn't matter. What mattered was getting Castiel to crack and for Crowley to finally lay off.

Dragging Castiel over to the trunk of the Impala was easier than Dean was expecting. He thought there would be more fuss.

"So, where are we going?" Castiel asked. Dean didn't answer as he stuffed the gag back in Castiel's mouth and slammed the trunk.

"Where _are_ you going, Dean?" Charlie asked. Sam looked like he wanted to know, too.

"The warehouse," Dean stated.

Sam raised his eyebrows and Charlie looked confused and asked, "What's that?"

"Secret warehouse of the CIA's used to house the captives we want information from." From how Sam said that, it was clear he didn't like it.

"Is it legal?" Charlie asked.

"Probably not, but that's where I have to take Novak. He's considered high-profile and dangerous," Dean shrugged, his eyes pleading with Sam to drop it. Charlie could guess they'd had an argument or two before over this warehouse. "You two coming?"

"You know how I feel about it, Dean. I'll show Charlie around here and maybe she can help me with some of my cases," Sam said and Charlie lit up.

"Sounds great!" she agreed.

"All right, we'll catch up later," Dean said, hopping into his car. The engine roared to life, a sound Dean never got tired of. He gave a small wave and headed to the warehouse. He was alone with Castiel in his trunk, heading to a place shrouded in mystery that he'd only been to once.

_What could go wrong? _Dean asked himself.

"About time," Crowley drawled. "Where is our dear Castiel?" He had stepped out of the warehouse to help bring Castiel inside.

"The trunk," Dean said like it was obvious. He walked to the back of the Impala and opened the trunk. Big blue eyes were looking up him and Dean quickly pulled Novak out of the trunk before he got distracted. He couldn't mess up, not with the boss watching.

Crowley grabbed the other arm and they hauled him into the building, keeping Castiel gagged.

Once in an interrogation room, Castiel's handcuffs were connected to the metal ring on the table and his gag was removed. The table and two chairs were sleek metal that were slightly reflective. The walls were completely bare, just concrete. There was only one door, no windows with a video camera in one corner of the ceiling. The single bulb hung bare over the table and barely lit the room. It was a pretty depressing place.

"Well, well," Castiel smirked, his face still messed up from Dean beating him at the hotel, "let the fun begin."

"Get comfortable, Novak. You're not leaving until we're done with you," Dean said, attempting to sound menacing.

Castiel just laughed. "I like the sound of that." He winked at Dean as he left the room.

Outside of the room, Dean stood with Crowley and they observed Castiel for a moment through the video camera feed. He was twiddling his thumbs and one leg was shaking up and down. He honestly didn't look too concerned that he was being held by the CIA and was about to be interrogated. He looked rather amused.

"It's going to be hard to crack him, Crowley. He's good, the best I've gone against. And he takes everything I say and makes it sexual," Dean said.

"Well, if that would get him to talk…" Crowley began but Dean's glare shut him up. "Look, you're one of the best agents we've got, Dean. Alistair taught you everything you know so put it to good use."

Alistair was Crowley's boss and had taught Dean some interrogation methods that could make anyone talk. He told Dean he was his protégé and showed such promise.

"What exactly am I trying to get out of him?" Dean finally asked, something he probably should have asked when he was assigned this case.

"Ask him about the Angel Project," Crowley said after a pause.

"That's it?" Dean asked. "Just about one project?"

"It's an important project. Now, go get something out of this guy and we'll celebrate a job well done afterwards."

Dean nodded and headed back into the room with Castiel.

"Is it the fun part now?" Castiel asked, teasing.

Dean simply sat across from him and decided to try a straightforward approach first. "Tell me about the Angel Project, Castiel."

"Oh, please, call me Cas."

"Fine. Tell me about the Angel Project. Cas."

"What makes you think I'm going to tell you anything?"

"You're going to talk. It's just a matter of time and a matter of how much pain you can handle."

At that, Cas leaned forwards in his seat. "I can handle plenty." He kept his intense gaze longer than what should have been comfortable, but Dean stared back. If this was a contest, Dean was determined to win.

"But still, maybe I don't even know anything," Cas said lazily, leaning back again.

Dean smirked. "I'm sure you do," he said standing up. He began to take off his tie. "See, why else would I be chasing you down and dragging your ass here if you didn't know anything?"

"Maybe you've got the hots for me, I mean it's understandable…" Cas was cut off when Dean's tie wrapped around his neck.

"Listen to me," Dean growled, not loosening up while Cas struggled to breathe, "this is not a game. You are not in control and you are done making jokes. Got it?"

He took his tie back and Cas gasped for air. Surprisingly, he didn't have a smart-ass remark.

Dean sat on the edge of the table, allowing himself a moment to take in this small victory. He placed his tie on the table and leaned in towards Cas.

"Now. Tell me what you know about the Angel Project," Dean demanded.

Cas looked up at him and swallowed. "This isn't going to go anywhere if I don't know anything."

Dean punched him in the face, specifically hitting a bruise he already gave him on his cheek.

"I guess I should I should have mentioned not to lie either," Dean shrugged.

Cas shook his head and blinked a few times to regain his composure. "Look, I'm not lying. I don't know anything about any Angel Project!"

Dean punched him again.

"All I know about an Angel Project is that that's why I was supposed to capture you. I was supposed to ask you about it," Cas admitted.

"Right, like I'm going to believe you," Dean said, but he wasn't sure. What if he was telling the truth? That would mean Crowley was lying, which was plausible, but then what was the CIA doing with Cas if he didn't know anything?

"Why don't you think of something useful to tell me that isn't bullshit and I'll be back later." Dean needed a moment to think, and to talk to Crowley.

"Fine. When you come back, bring me a burger."


	7. Chapter 7

Dean entered the video room adjacent to the room Cas was in to talk to Crowley.

"What the hell, Crowley?"

"What do you mean? He's clearly lying. You can't be buying what he's selling, not you. Nothing he said makes any sense, surely you can see that," Crowley said lazily.

"I don't know. He didn't seem like he was lying," Dean said, crossing his arms.

"Well, know I'm not lying when I say this," Crowley said fiercely, crossing his arms as well, "Find out what he knows or find a new job." He began to leave the room.

"That threat's getting old, Crowley!" Dean called at his retreating back but got no response. He just admitted Dean was one of the best, he wasn't going to fire him. Before he took another crack at getting Cas to talk, he decided to give Sam a call.

"Hey, Dean, what's up?" Sam answered.

"Just hanging out at the warehouse with Cas and Crowley," Dean said, exhausted.

"You're calling him Cas now?" Sam asked. Dean could hear the smirk in his voice and wasn't pleased.

"Shut up, Sammy."

Sam just laughed. "Are you getting anywhere with him?"

"Not really. Crowley told me to ask him about the Angel Project but Cas said he was supposed to catch me and ask about the same project. So I don't know who to believe."

"I'd say trust your boss even if he is a dick. Why would you take the word of an enemy spy over someone in the CIA?"

"Because I'm pretty sure Cas is telling the truth, Sam. You know I can read people and you know I can get them to talk," Dean said. They generally avoided the topic of Dean's interrogation methods. It was questionable at best but it got results.

"Okay, how about this?" Sam sighed, "Charlie and I will help, we'll see what can find out about this Angel Project and who's actually running it, if it exists."

"Thanks."

Dean hung up and glanced at the screen again. Cas was looking right at the screen like he knew someone was watching. It was creepy and Dean decided to just head back in to get to the bottom of this whole mess.

"I see you forgot my burger," Cas said dryly as Dean entered the room.

"I see you forgot I told you enough of the jokes," Dean snapped. Cas just raised his eyebrows.

"So, what did your boss decide? I'm useless and you're going to kill me?"

"No, not yet at least," Dean said honestly, unsure of Crowley's intent with Cas.

"Fair enough. Did you come to ask me again about the project I know nothing about?"

"You mean the project you _claim_ to know nothing about. I'm still not convinced," Dean said as he sat on the edge of the table again. It kept him within hitting range if Cas, if need be.

"What more can I say besides 'I don't know'!" Cas exclaimed.

"What were you told about the Project, what were you supposed to get from me?" Dean asked.

"Nothing! Honestly, they just told me to catch you and bring you back and we would go from there. They slipped that name on accident," Cas said, looking down.

"This isn't the first time I've had to get information from someone. I'm actually well-known for it around here. If you know something, I'll get it out of you," Dean said, standing. He pulled several knives of varying lengths from his suit jacket and laid them on the table. He then placed his jacket on the back of the metal chair opposite the table from Cas.

Dean still wore his white dress shirt, his tie discarded on the table. As he rolled up his sleeves, he asked, "You sure there's nothing you want to tell me before it gets messy?"

Cas laughed. "Messy? Sounds fun…" He stopped, his laugh caught as Dean held a knife to his throat. He had moved faster than Cas could blink.

Dean could tell Cas was scared but was doing an excellent job of hiding it. He stayed close, simply pressing the tip of the knife into Cas's skin without drawing blood. Yet.

"Now, Cas. No more jokes, remember?" Cas nodded, barely moving to avoid accidentally cutting himself.

"Why would both of our bosses tell us the same thing, Cas?" Dean asked in a low voice.

"I don't know," Cas said in a voice just as low. Dean pressed the knife a little more, just enough pressure to draw a small drop of crimson blood. Cas blinked but otherwise didn't acknowledge anything had happened.

"I mean, Angel Project. Sounds fancy, really formal. And secretive. I kind of like the name of it, don't you?" Dean said, clearly enjoying the shift in the dynamic of the room. He was in charge now, that was obvious, and he would get Cas to spill his secrets or Dean would spill his blood.

Cas barely nodded again and Dean almost missed it because he was focused on the bead of blood that was making its way down Cas's neck.

Dean's phone went off then. As Dean removed the knife from Cas's throat, there was a barely perceptible sigh of relief that didn't go unnoticed by Dean.

The caller I.D. said it was Sam. Dean dropped the knife on the table and told Cas, "Don't go anywhere," and then stepped back into the video room.

"What do you got, Sam?" Dean asked, eager for answers.

"Get this, I found out a whole hell of a lot about your Angel Project. Well, sort of. All of it is really well hidden and any document we can find is mostly blacked out," Sam said, sounding almost guilty.

"Well, that's something, that means it exists. Can you and Charlie keep working on it?" Dean asked. He was scared that this project existed but hopeful this would finally get him somewhere in figuring out what was going on.

"I can have her keep trying but I've got other cases…"

"That's fine, Sam, this is good so far, no rush. Cas isn't going anywhere," Dean said.

"One more thing, Dean. On one of the documents…" Sam started but faded out due to a bad connection. Being in a basement with concrete walls will do that.

"Sam? What does it say?"

"Crowley… of it…. Safe. Okay?" Sam said before the line disconnected.


	8. Chapter 8

Dean didn't waste any time trying to figure out what Sam said. It sounded like Crowley was a part of whatever was going on and he wanted Dean to be safe.

He decided to talk to Cas again.

"So, how's Sam doing?" Cas asked with a smirk as Dean shut the door behind himself.

"What makes you say that was Sam?" Dean asked with what he hoped was his best poker face.

"I can't imagine anyone else getting your attention away from me right now, you're quite married to your work, Dean. Remember, we already know each other pretty well."

"Fine, it was Sam. What's it to you?" Dean said, sitting down across from Cas.

"Well, what was so important that you left me all alone?"

"Why would I tell you anything, Novak? You're the one handcuffed."

"It just seems like we're going to be here for a while, seems like it might be nice to get to know each other."

"You already said we know each other pretty well. Like I know you have one sister, Anna, and your partner in crime is Gabriel."

Cas shifted in his seat. It seemed like he didn't want the focus of this conversation turned on him so of course, Dean continued.

"Your parents died when you were young. Surprisingly and luckily, you and Anna stayed together in the system. Well, until Russian intelligence discovered you were way too smart to be in high school and recruited you at 18. You've been the most successful agent they've ever had and Anna is a rather successful writer," Dean rallied off. He had memorized so many facts about Castiel Novak over the years that this was just scratching the surface.

"That's basic stuff, any kid with a computer could Google that, Dean," Cas said, trying to keep cool but Dean could tell it bothered him that Dean knew so much. And Dean understood. As a spy, information was your most important weapon. The more someone knew about you, the easier they could take you out. Staying secretive and reserved could save your life and remaining distant was part of life in this line of work.

"All right then. How about any of the foster siblings you had? Ever keep in contact with them? Samandriel seems cool, maybe Michael? I wouldn't send a Christmas card to Lucifer, though, he seems like a great big bag of dicks…"

"Shut up," Cas growled.

"Now we're getting somewhere. Want to talk about your boss, Raphael? Seems like a piece of work but I can't say mine's much better. He sent you on a lot of missions, Cas. Were you always successful?"

"No," Cas barely whispered, hanging his head.

"I'm sorry, I didn't catch that," Dean said smugly.

"No," Cas said with more conviction. "I wasn't always successful. I've messed up and it was costly."

"I'd say. Cost a girl her life, didn't it?"

"Yes," Cas agreed quietly, still not looking up. "We can't save everyone in this line of work, Dean. You of all people know that." As he said that, Cas looked up, glaring into Dean's eyes.

"What the hell do you mean?" Dean asked, knowing full well what he meant but not daring to think it. He stood and slowly walked around the table.

"Your father. You couldn't save him," Cas said matter-of-factly.

"You don't know crap about my dad," Dean said menacingly.

Cas could tell he was getting under his skin and rambled on. "It's your fault he died and you know it…"

He was stopped as he head snapped back from a punch that connected with his jaw from Dean. Then, a second and a third punch.

"I didn't know he was there! He wasn't supposed to be there," Dean said, walking back to his side of the table to prevent himself from seriously hurting Cas. They still needed him.

"You and Sam were tracking down the drug lord Azazel, the man who killed your mother. He was the reason you both joined the CIA, to hunt him down and all others like him. Your father went rogue as a bounty hunter, dragged you all over the country with him when you were young trying to track him and take down his whole operation."

"Stop," Dean pleaded, facing the door. Cas barely heard him and kept going.

"You finally both were in the CIA and had enough evidence to take Azazel down. There was a shootout between the CIA and his thugs. Azazel was arrested and your father died in the crossfire. He was a civilian who shouldn't have been there and you blame yourself," Cas said. Two could play at this game.

"Yeah, I do because I didn't scope the place out before we charged in. I would have seen him and he'd still be alive. Sam tries to tell me to stop blaming myself but I can't," Dean said. He turned around and sat back at the table.

"That was one of your first cases, right?"

"Yeah. Before Crowley was our boss, we had Bobby. He was the best, taught me more than my old man and Crowley combined," Dean said, allowing himself to look at Cas. His eyes held so much understanding. They were so alike but on opposite sides.

"What happened to Bobby?" Cas asked.

"Killed. He was shot by that serial killer Dick Roman. Sam and I made sure to take him down, he's rotting in prison now and won't ever get out."

"Good. I'm sure Bobby was a great guy," Cas said. He seemed genuine, too.

"He was," Dean said, allowing a small smile. "Unlike my boss now."

"Yeah, mine's not too pleasant either. In fact, he probably won't even care that I'm missing," Cas admitted.

Dean couldn't believe how much they were sharing right now. He also didn't know what to say because it wasn't up to him when or if Cas got out of here so he just gave a sympathetic look.

"When Sam called, he was letting me know what he found. I had him and another agent, Charlie…"

"The redhead from San Francisco?"

"Yeah, her. They were looking up information on the Angel Project."

"Well, what'd they find?" Cas asked, practically begging.

"Oh, come on, Cas. You can't expect me to just tell you, do you?" Dean said with a smile. He was about to get Cas to beg for real when the door opened behind him.

"Winchester, get out here a minute," Crowley said. Dean could tell he wasn't asking.

Dean exited the room without another look at Cas.

"What?" Dean asked impatiently. He was actually starting to enjoy his time spent Cas which both shocked and scared him.

"He doesn't know anything, he's of no further use. We're going to get rid of him. Tonight."


	9. Chapter 9

Dean simply stood in shock for a few seconds until Crowley spoke again.

"Well, you knew we weren't going to keep him as a pet. You do have the stones to get rid of him, right?" Crowley taunted. Dean nodded numbly.

Crowley knew very well that wasn't the problem. The problem had become Castiel. For some reason Dean didn't understand, he didn't want Cas dead and he especially couldn't be the one to do it. This time was different, _Cas_ was different.

"Great, well I have a meeting in an hour I have to prepare for and then I'll be back. I trust our little trenchcoated problem will be dealt with by then?" Crowley asked. Dean didn't answer. He just couldn't bring himself to kill Cas or admit to Crowley that he couldn't do it either. He was screwed.

"Winchester! Promise me that when I return Novak will not be here, okay?" Crowley demanded, slightly raising his voice for the last half of the sentence.

"I promise," Dean said halfheartedly.

"Good," Crowley said with a nod and exited the video room.

Dean stood, looking at the small screen focused on Cas. Sure, he was dangerous and smart and technically an enemy, but he seemed so innocent at the same time. At that moment, Cas was actually twiddling his thumbs and seemed like he didn't have a care in the world.

Dean ran his hand through his short, spiky hair as his mind raced. He couldn't kill him and he couldn't let Crowley come back and find Cas alive. So, naturally, Dean decided to call his brother.

"Dean, hey," Sam answered, "you didn't really give us a lot of time to do more digging…"

"Forget that. Sam, Crowley told me I have to kill Cas. He has a meeting and then he'll be back and he wants Cas gone," Dean said rapidly.

"Whoa, okay, what's the big deal? What did you think would happen when you were taking him to the warehouse?" Sam said rather nonchalantly.

"You're usually the one against this. Now, you're not fighting me on it?"

"Look, I've given up trying to stop you. You're going to do what needs to be done over there, I get it."

"No, you don't. Not this time, Sammy. I can't kill Cas," Dean admitted. It was scarier to say out loud than to just think in his head.

"Because you have a crush on him?" Charlie yelled. She sounded distant.

"You have me on freaking speaker phone?" Dean spat, while successfully avoiding the question.

"Well, I thought it was about the Angel Project. We haven't gotten much further, like I said," Sam laughed. Dean thought he seemed rather uninterested that he had to freaking _kill_ someone and was second guessing orders.

"We're getting off topic," Dean said in a low, stern voice that Sam knew meant Dean was all business.

"Why don't you let him go, make it look like he escaped?" Sam suggested. Charlie voiced her agreement as well. Dean wasn't completely on board but it did get him thinking.

"I've got an idea but you won't be happy," Dean admitted. To be fair, though, not a lot of Dean's ideas made Sam happy anyways.

* * *

Dean slammed the door shut behind him which got Cas's attention and his head snapped up. His face was swollen and had plenty of dried blood, some of which had stained his white shirt and suit jacket. The infamous trenchcoat was on the back of his chair.

He looked ridiculously exhausted but had probably gone without a few days of sleep or food before, Dean knew he had his shares of those days. There had been plenty of stakeouts and travelling and reading the same case files over and over about Azazel, Castiel and countless others.

"Look, are we done here yet? I really have to be going," Cas said wearily and not with the same bite as his earlier sarcastic remarks.

"Why the hurry? You seem a little tied up at the moment, anyways," Dean responded.

"Ha ha," Cas said without any humor or trace of a smile on his lips.

Dean momentarily became distracted by those lips. They were full and pink and still gorgeous despite the bottom one being split and bloody and dried blood in one corner of his mouth.

"Here's the thing, Cas. My boss gave me an order and I generally follow his orders even though he's a dick," Dean began, shaking the thought of Cas's lips out of his mind as he focused on his eyes which weren't really less distracting.

"Let me guess. You have to kill me?" Cas said. Dean froze a moment under Cas's gaze on his way to his chair but then continued moving. It was creepy how well Cas could read him, almost better than Sam could.

"Yeah, well, nature of the job, I guess," Dean said as he sat down. Playing a tough situation off with humor was his signature move but Cas wasn't buying it.

"Then why are we still sitting here, Dean? How come you aren't driving away from here with my corpse in your trunk, ready to be free of me for good?" Cas asked, leaning forward with his arms on the table.

Dean matched his position and their faces were about a foot and a half apart. "Maybe I don't want to be rid of you just yet."

After a staring contest of about twenty seconds, Dean surrendered and sat back in his chair, folding his arms. "What I mean is," he gave a small cough, "we could be useful to one another."

Cas sat back as well and had a knowing smirk, allowing a pause to insinuate he wanted Dean to continue and explain what he meant.

"We still need to found out what the hell this Angel Project is, right?"

Cas just nodded, still smirking.

"So, why don't we work together?" Dean asked. Luckily, he cut the feed to the video camera or this would ruin him. Although, what was more disastrous than any video was the next word out of Cas's mouth.

"Sure."

Dean couldn't believe his ears. Cas was going to help him.

"That's not happening in this basement, though, so we gotta get out of here. You're sure you're okay with helping me, Cas?"

"Of course. What makes you doubt that?" Cas asked with furrowed eyebrows and a slight tilt to his head.

"Nothing, it's just that usually people who trust me end up getting hurt."

"I know you, Dean, at least on paper, and you can't keep blaming yourself for what happened in the past."

Dean didn't say anything as he unlocked the handcuffs. He paused for a second to look into Cas's amazing blue eyes and saw nothing but trust. If anyone were to stab him in the back, it wouldn't be Cas. That was obvious.

They walked into the video room and Dean crossed it to stick his head out through the door and look into the hallway. There was one guard at the bottom of the stairs at the far end of the dimly lit, concrete hallway opposite of where they were.

_On the plus side_, Dean thought, _I'm keeping my promise. Cas won't be here when Crowley gets back._

* * *

**_AN: Thanks for reading! Oh, and reviews are great! Please and thank you._**


	10. Chapter 10

_I can't believe I'm doing this, _Dean thought, _I can't believe I am helping the enemy escape. I'm going to die, they are actually going to kill me…_

His thoughts were interrupted by Cas asking him what the plan was.

"Plan? I don't know, make it out without getting shot?" Dean said and that sounded good to him.

"That's not a plan! I thought you had a plan!" Cas argued.

Dean just rolled his eyes. He might have just left him if he was going to be like this. The duo stepped into the hallway.

"Just follow my lead, okay?" Dean said softly and Cas nodded.

The two of them headed down the hallway with Cas in front and Dean's gun in his back.

The guard raised his gun and stood as they approached. "Where are you going?"

"Hey, easy! It's okay!" Dean said as he flashed his CIA badge with his free hand.

"What about him?" the guard said, indicating Cas with a flick of his gun.

"He's with me, I'm moving him," Dean answered. That wasn't even a lie, really, the problem was he supposed to be _killing_ Cas, not helping him escape.

"Moving him where?" the guard asked, eying Cas suspiciously.

"I don't think I have to tell you that," Dean said, attempting to pass the guard and head up the stairs.

"Actually, you do. I wasn't made aware that any prisoners were being mo…"

He was cut-off by Dean pistol-whipping him in the head and knocking him out cold.

"Let's move," he said simply.

Cas didn't argue as they ran up the stairs. This floor was street level but would be filled with many more agents. They all knew about the prisoners downstairs, how many and who they were, and they would easily recognize a high profile catch like Cas and the agent who brought him in.

"How long do we have before someone realizes the guard's out?" Cas asked, whispering in Dean's ear.

"Ten minutes, max. Knowing my luck, less," Dean responded.

They stood at the top of the stairs and opened the door. It was another hallway, this one carpeted and brighter because it had windows. It spanned to the guys' right and left. There were offices lining both sides. At each end was a connecting hallway making an "L" shape.

"Pick your poison, Cas, right or left?"

"Right."

"Right it is, let's go."

They moved as quick as possible without running and Dean kept his gun to Cas's back in case they were questioned again. And of course, they were.

The door to the last office opened, the last office they had to pass before making another right and getting closer to their escape.

"Winchester! Haven't seen you in ages, what's going on?" It was Alistair, the last person Dean wanted to run into. His smile was still the creepiest thing to behold and Dean had to repress a shudder at his grotesque voice. Since he pretty much ran the warehouse, it wasn't a shock for him to be here but it just proved how rotten Dean's luck was.

"Not much, just moving our prisoner back to headquarters, per Crowley's requests, sir," Dean answered, always the good soldier.

"Really. That's not what he told me. He told me this _scum_," his eyes flicked over to Cas for a brief moment, "would be taken care of before he returned from his meeting at headquarters," Alistair replied warily, crossing his arms.

"Right, yeah, I'm, uh, taking care of him, and then, um, I'm heading to headquarters. To talk to Crowley. That's what I meant," Dean fumbled. He could feel Cas tense beside him and he hoped Alistair bought his lie for Cas's sake. He couldn't risk Cas's life like this and see it go sour. Everyone who trusted him got screwed but he vowed to himself in that moment that Cas would live, he would be safe, even if it was the last thing Dean ever did.

Alistair had narrowed his eyes and was sizing Dean up. He knew Dean well, he taught him for longer than Dean would care to admit, and it was nerve-racking to be measured under such a despicable gaze.

But Dean held firm, his eyes steely and believable.

"Well, get on with it then. Tell Crowley to call me when he's done with you," Alistair said, continuing down the hallway in the direction Dean and Cas had come from.

The two let out a sigh of relief in sync but didn't stand around to revel in their victory for long. If Alistair called Crowley or saw the guard…

"Shit," Dean said as Alistair opened the door to the stairs that would have an unconscious guard at the bottom of them.

Dean and Cas turned right again down the adjoining hallway and ran away from Alistair and the offices of the other "higher-ups" of management. This would be a "shoot first, ask questions later" situation.

"You had to pick right, didn't you!" Dean yelled as they entered a spacious area filled with cubicles and agents who were quick to catch onto the situation and drew their guns.

"You asked me to pick!" Cas screamed back. An alarm was blaring and the two men had to run bent in half to avoid bullets.

An agent flew in from nowhere and tackled Cas. Dean quickly pulled him off, punched him in the face, and picked Cas up.

They kept running towards the exit, it was 50 feet away and they were moving fast. Bullets kept flying. Sure, they wanted Cas dead more but Dean was now helping the enemy and that was enough for a death warrant in the CIA's eyes.

Cas dropped again next to him and he screamed out.

Dean immediately pulled him up again and saw a bullet had grazed Cas's right leg, blood already gushing from the wound in his calf. They were maybe 30 feet from the door.

"Come on, Cas, I got you." He threw Cas's right arm over his shoulders to help him walk and put one arm behind Cas's back. With his other hand, he began firing back. He pistol-whipped two guys and they went down hard as Cas punched out another agent.

As he practically dragged Cas, Dean hit a couple agents in the arm and kept firing madly as they backed up to the door until finally Dean's back hit it.

A bullet slammed into the door between their heads but not before scraping over Dean's bicep of his right arm, the one supporting Cas.

"God damn it," Dean hissed, trying his best to ignore the pain. He was pretty sure the bullet just passed over him, just like Cas's leg, but it still hurt like a bitch.

Exiting the building, Dean tried to move them faster and dig his keys out at the same time, using the wounded arm that was behind Cas to do so and keep firing.

As they reached the Impala, Dean helped Cas in as the door they just escaped from opened, agents pouring out and firing at them.

_If they hurt my baby or Cas…again…_ Dean thought in a rush of anger as he sprinted around the car and flung open the door.

The Impala roared to life and the tires squealed loudly as they peeled out of the parking lot.


	11. Chapter 11

"Cas, are you okay?" Dean asked as he looked over at him. They were flying down the streets of Washington D.C. going well over the speed limit but Dean didn't care.

"No, my leg feels like it's on fire and I haven't eaten or drank anything in… I don't even know how long," Cas replied, holding onto his leg to put pressure on it. He glanced over and saw the worry in Dean's face. "Oh, I was supposed to lie, right? No, I'm fine!"

Dean smiled a little but worry was still etched on his face.

"How are you? You got shot, too," Cas said, eying Dean's shot arm. He was only driving with his left, non-wounded arm.

"I'm fine. Are we being followed?" Dean asked, looking in the rearview mirror.

"I don't think so… I'll keep looking," Cas said. They drove in silence for a little while, Dean focusing on the road and Cas making sure no car stayed behind them for too long. "I think we're good, where are we headed?"

"To an old friend's place. I'm sure they've already been to my apartment, probably trashed it…" Dean said, trailing off as he ran a hand nervously through his hair.

They made the rest of the trip in more silence but it wasn't uncomfortable. Dean pulled the Impala into the parking lot of a decent looking apartment building. He tried to park it so it couldn't be seen from the street.

"Let's go, we can get cleaned up and maybe something to eat," Dean said as they exited the car. He saw Cas was having trouble walking, so he went over to put his left arm around him and help him into the building.

It would have been easier to take the elevator but it was in the lobby where a doorman was sitting reading a magazine. The two didn't want there to be a trace of their visit so Dean hauled Cas up to the second floor on the side stairs, out of sight from the doorman.

Since Dean's arms were either around Cas or had been shot, Cas knocked as they reached apartment 2C after an encouraging nod from Dean.

The door opened after a minute to reveal a middle aged woman with shoulder length brown hair and fierce brown eyes to match. She wore a plaid shirt over a tank top with jeans.

She immediately pulled Dean into a hug, leaving Cas to lean a hand on the doorframe to support himself. Just as quick as she hugged him, she backed up a step and slapped Dean hard across the face.

"I haven't heard from you or Sam in months. Months, Dean!" She exclaimed. "You could have been dead for all we knew."

"I'm sorry, Ellen, it's been busy…" Dean sputtered, knowing there was no good excuse for making Ellen worry.

"Busy? Too busy to give me peace of mind?" She sighed as she glanced at Cas and realized they both needed help. "It is good to see you, Dean, come on in," she said, switching to a less harsh but still maternal, loving voice.

"Thanks," Dean said as they followed Ellen into the apartment. It was small and cozy, full of books and pictures. There was a spacious living room that the front door opened into with a kitchen and dining room to the right and a short hallway to the left leading to the two bedrooms and a bathroom.

A blonde twenty something was sitting on the couch and sprung up as the three entered the apartment. She rushed over to give Dean a hug but didn't slap him like Ellen had.

"Hey, Jo," Dean said rather fondly, Cas noticed.

It was then that Dean realized both women were looking back and forth from Cas to him and there hadn't been any introductions made.

"Oh right, this is Cas. Cas, this is Ellen and Jo," Dean said.

"Cas?" Jo asked. "Like Castiel, the guy you were hunting?"

Realization dawned on both women and they took a step back.

"No, no, it's fine. Really. Well, yeah this is Cas, but he's not the problem," Dean said, not really convincing either of them that Cas wasn't a threat.

"Why don't we get you cleaned up? Jo, honey, get the first aid kit and I'll get some whiskey," Ellen said authoritatively and they both headed in opposite directions leaving Dean and Cas in the living room.

The two sat on the couch with a considerable amount of space between them.

"So, how do you know Ellen and Jo?" Cas asked to break the silence.

"Ellen's Bobby's second wife, Jo is her kid from her first marriage and Bobby pretty much adopted her. They're like family to me and Sam," Dean said, looking at Cas.

"Jo seems to like you a lot," Cas pointed out quietly. Dean couldn't help but laugh.

"Probably more than she should but she's like a sister to me," Dean answered. "Why, Cas, you jealous?" Dean could see he made Cas blush and laughed some more as Ellen and Jo came back.

"What's so funny?" Jo asked.

"Nothing, nothing. Let's get patched up, huh?" Dean said.

Ellen and Jo quickly got to work. They cut away at Dean's shirt and Cas's pant leg to expose the wounds to clean and dress them. The whiskey was used to clean the injuries and to drink, though Cas barely had any saying he wasn't too fond of drinking.

"I'm sure it's a great story to hear how the two of you ended up at my door, bleeding and clearly on the run," Ellen said. Dean figured they owed her the truth.

Dean explained everything, starting at the Angel Project, what Sam found out about Crowley's involvement and how they escaped because Dean wasn't going to kill Cas. He didn't mention the capturing or interrogation process figuring it would contradict their unlikely almost friendship.

"Ow, shit," Dean said followed by a sharp exhale of breath.

"Don't be such a wuss," Jo said, digging in Dean's arm to remove a piece of the bullet.

Once both men were patched up, Ellen offered them some clothes to take.

"They're just sitting there, you boys need them, go ahead," Ellen said. Her face was wracked with pain, thinking about Bobby, and Dean looked down and said a soft word of thanks. He knew she didn't want to talk about Bobby and to be honest, Dean didn't want to either. They were similar in the fact that they both suppressed their emotions.

Dean and Cas headed to the larger bedroom to find some replacement clothes. Dean only needed a new shirt but Cas would need new pants and a new shirt because he had blood on it from the wounds Dean caused.

Both of them took off their shirts and Dean pulled two shirts out of the closet. Figuring it would be best to stick with their formal, business attire, they were both simple, white button-up shirts.

Cas tried to subtly glance at Dean, who was every bit as muscular as he would have guessed, at the same time Dean tried to subtly glance at Cas who was more muscular than he would have thought. They both realized the other one was looking and their eyes flew down as they buttoned up their shirts.

"I'll, uh, let you find some pants, then," Dean said. He made to exit the bedroom so Cas could change his pants but Cas's hand on his good arm, his shoulder specifically, stopped him.

Dean turned to face Cas and was surprisingly close to him. Close to his bruised face, hurt but beautiful lips, messy, dark hair and most importantly close to those gorgeous, deep blue eyes. Cas's hand was still on his shoulder and it was shockingly warm. Dean felt like he was burning his handprint onto him.

Dean looked from Cas's eyes down to his hand and back.

"I just wanted to say thank you, Dean. For everything," Cas said.

Dean would have responded, probably something sarcastic and funny to diffuse the seriousness, but Cas had started to lean in. Dean wasn't sure what to do at all and stood there until the moment was broken by his phone ringing.

He took a step back to answer it and Cas stepped back too, running his hand through his hair, making it even more messy.

"Hello?" Dean answered, not bothering to check caller I.D.

It was Crowley's voice.

"Winchester. We need to talk."


	12. Chapter 12

**AN: Thanks to all of the follows/favorites and reviews! And thanks for reading. This is the longest chapter so far, enjoy! Oh, and happy new year!**

"Crowley. What, uh, what do we need to talk about?" Dean said nervously. His mind wasn't really in this conversation, it was still on what had almost happened with Cas. Dean could take a long time thinking about that and still be confused.

"I think you can guess. Alastair told me a very interesting story of how you escaped with the prisoner. I recall telling you to kill him, not rescue him," Crowley drawled.

"I, uh…" Dean stammered. He could feel Cas's eyes on him but kept his own eyes focused on the carpet of Ellen's bedroom.

"Listen to me. You will bring Castiel Novak _back_ to the warehouse and I promise we won't shoot at you this time."

"Yeah? Or what?" Dean asked, not really seeing any incentive in bringing Cas back into CIA custody.

"I'll find a way to get you to bring me Novak. Just know, it's in your best interest to do it sooner rather than later." The line went dead as Crowley hung up.

"So, back to that warehouse?" Cas asked.

"No, why would you say that?" Dean wondered.

"I just figured you'd want to take me back there. I don't think I'm worth risking your job or worse over."

"Cas, I knew the risk when I decided to bust you out, okay? You're going to be safe, I promise."

Cas nodded but looked skeptical.

"I'm serious, man. Crowley's not going to hurt you. We'll figure out what's going on here and we'll be fine."

Cas paused for a moment. "Why are you helping me, Dean?"

Dean opened his mouth to answer but before he could Ellen came in.

"You boys might want to get out of here, there's a lot of suits outside and I'm guessing they're not selling Girl Scout cookies," she stated simply.

Dean rushed out of the room and to the window in the living room that overlooked the parking lot where they parked the Impala. There were indeed plenty of agents, all armed, and looking pretty ready to charge the building.

"Shit," Dean said.

"How did they find us?" Cas asked.

"Our friends and family list is pretty short. If they checked my apartment and then Sam's this would be next. Ellen, Jo, thanks for everything, we gotta go," Dean said quickly while opening the window.

"What are you doing?" Jo asked.

"I'm waiting for them to charge in and then I'm going to climb down the side of the building. Cas, you coming?" Dean said, looking at Cas. He just nodded uneasily.

Dean perched on the window ledge, looking out. Not surprisingly, Crowley was the one calling the shots. He was leaning on the hood of Dean's baby which made him clench his teeth together.

"Freaking asshole…" Dean muttered.

Crowley gave the order and the agents moved quickly towards the same door Dean and Cas had come through earlier.

The parking lot was clear and Crowley began to head towards the door as well and Dean began to ease his way out of the window.

Once he was just holding on by his fingers, Cas joined him. They hung for their lives side by side as sounds of fists pounding on a door rang out.

"Open up, CIA!" shouted an agent outside of the apartment. Ellen delayed as long as she could before opening the door and about a dozen agents swarmed in, guns raised, followed by Crowley himself.

Outside, Dean and Cas started to lower themselves by stepping on bricks that stuck out from the side of the apartment complex.

They were on finally on the ledge of the apartment's window diagonally below and to the left of Ellen's window. The two paused to listen.

"Ellen Harvelle, good to see you again," Crowley said. Dean could tell he was smiling evilly even from a floor below.

"I wish I could return the sentiment, Crowley. What are you doing here?" Ellen snapped.

"Oh, come on, darling, we both know you're smarter than that," Crowley responded.

Dean and Cas lowered themselves so they were hanging from this ledge now. The building was set up so that the first floor held no apartments so they were technically still a story up.

Ellen didn't answer Crowley. What Cas and Dean couldn't see was that several agents had gathered their discarded, bloody clothing and Crowley was eying the first aid kit and whiskey still on the living room coffee table.

"I know the Winchesters are here, Ellen," Crowley said. Dean knew he was smart and would eventually look out the window.

Cas and Dean climbed the rest of the way down, as quickly as they could with their bullet wounds. Dean was positive he was bleeding through his bandage and might have ripped some of the stitches but he couldn't worry about that now.

As their feet hit the ground, they ran towards the Impala. Well, Cas limped and ran.

"WINCHESTER!" Crowley yelled out Ellen's window followed by multiple gunshots as the guys got into the car. "Don't just stand there, go! Follow them!" he yelled at the agents in the apartment.

Dean took that as his cue to go and revved the engine. They peeled out into traffic without a backwards glance.

* * *

The two had been driving for maybe five minutes before Dean noticed the two black SUVs behind them.

"Cas, can you reach your gun? We've got company." Dean said, his eyes going from the road to the rearview mirror as the SUVs got closer.

"Yeah," Cas said, stretching to reach the backseat. Dean had thrown it there when they moved Cas from the rental to the Impala's trunk and had taken it from Cas all the way back at the hotel in Chicago. That seemed like so long ago, maybe months, not just a couple days. So much had changed since then. He had turned on his boss and the CIA and befriended the enemy.

"All right, I can try to lose them, but you have to fire at them. Aim for the tires," Dean said, finally looking at Cas who nodded grimly. Cas turned towards the window and looked behind the car at the SUVs that were right behind them.

Dean sped up and blew a red light to many angry honks and swerving cars but the chasing agents didn't care. They were matching Dean's speed, also blew the red light and had begun to fire.

Cas returned fire but it was hard to fire sideways out a window at about 60 miles per hour. Dean was swerving around the cars that were going the speed limit of 40 but the SUVs kept on.

Both men ducked down briefly as the back window was shot out.

"Those fucking bastards…" Dean growled. His hands gripped tighter on the wheel and there was a fire in his eyes Cas hadn't seen since the hotel. It was one of fierce anger and determination and Cas decided it was better when Dean didn't look at _him_ like that. It was much better when Dean was flustered by something Cas had said or talked about how he would keep him safe.

Cas fired again and successfully hit the front left tire of the lead SUV. It veered sharply to the right and slammed into a light pole. Cas allowed himself a small laugh as the airbags deployed.

"Good shot, Cas," Dean said, not letting his eyes leave the road.

Cas stopped for a second and glanced at Dean. It was hard to focus on shooting at the CIA when this man was next to him and after what happened at Ellen's. Cas had changed since meeting Dean and had gotten really close to him. _Too close_, he thought, _that was stupid, he would never…_

His thoughts were interrupted by a bullet flying right by his ear. Cas began to return fire but was thrown off balance by Dean making a sharp left turn, blowing another red light.

The SUV was falling back but still close. Cas got a shot off and then realized he was out of bullets as he tried to fire again.

After a hard right, Cas pulled his head back into the car and turned to face Dean.

"Dean, I'm out of bullets."

"Here, take my gun. Should still have some bullets in it."

Dean handed Cas his gun and their fingers brushed for a brief moment. Dean looked at Cas as Cas took the gun. A clear blush was creeping up Dean's face and he coughed as he shifted his focus back to the road. Cas shifted his own focus back to firing at the SUV.

He stuck his head out of the window but he realized the SUV was no longer behind them.

"We lost them, Dean."

**AN: Again, thanks for reading. I would love a review! They make my day and keep me going.**


	13. Chapter 13

"All right, now what?" Dean said. Cas could tell Dean was exhausted, Cas was too, but with a team of pissed off CIA agents on their trail, they couldn't stop now, not yet.

"You said Sam was digging up information on this Angel Project, right?" Cas asked.

"Yeah, with Charlie," Dean answered.

"Why don't we meet up with them and found out what they have and see if we can help?"

"Great idea," Dean asked. He looked back into the rearview mirror to be absolutely sure the SUV was gone. Then, he shifted his gaze back to the road. It was difficult, but Dean was able to avoid meeting Cas's eyes. They had some awkwardly close moments and he couldn't shake them off. Cas was something special, obviously, or Dean wouldn't be risking both of their necks right now. He wouldn't have been able to explain it if anyone asked, nor would he want to talk about it, but there was definitely a kind of bond between the two of them.

But what could happen between them? They were on the run and it was only a matter of time before the CIA and Crowley caught up to them.

"Dean?"

"Yeah, Cas?" Dean asked, finally peeling his eyes from the road to meet the stunningly blue eyes of the man next to him.

"Do you, uh, know where they are?"

Dean didn't say anything. He had no idea where his brother and Charlie were. _Crap_, Dean thought. Sam didn't even know he busted Cas out and they were on the run. He had been too caught up with keeping Cas and himself safe.

Just then, Dean's phone rang.

"Hello?" Dean answered after digging it out of his pocket.

"Dean? It's Charlie," she said, sounding kind of worried.

"Hey, speak of the devil. Where are you and Sam holed up at?"

"That's, um, what I'm calling about. I woke up in the motel room. A bunch of agents broke in like an hour ago and knocked me out with chloroform. Sam's gone and so is everything we had on the Angel Project."

Dean didn't say anything for a moment, just ran his hand through his hair. Cas could tell something was wrong. He didn't like seeing Dean like this.

"Dean, I'm so sorry…"

"Charlie, listen to me. This is not your fault, okay? I shouldn't have dragged you into this. Where are you?"

She told them where she was and Dean hung up, pressing the gas pedal of the Impala farther down.

Cas was looking at Dean with worry and clearly wanted to know what was going on.

"They've got Sam. Cas, they took my brother."

Dean charged out of the car and right to the door of the motel and knocked with such force Cas was surprised he didn't bust it right off of its hinges.

Charlie answered the door hastily with red -rimmed eyes. Behind her, the motel room was trashed like there was a huge fight. The lamp between the bed was smashed, the TV was in ruins, and clothes were thrown all over the room with other rubble and destruction.

"Charlie, again, it's not your fault. I should have called, should have checked in or been with you guys…" Dean said, pulling Charlie into a hug. He still barely knew her but already considered her like a little sister.

"Dean," Cas said as they walked into the room, closing the door behind them, "it's not your fault either. This is entirely Crowley's fault."

"It's my job to protect Sammy, it always has been."

Charlie finally noticed the trenchcoated man that followed Dean in. "Wait, Dean… is this… no way…" Charlie stammered, stepping back from Cas like Ellen and Jo had.

"Yeah, this is Cas," Dean said quickly, not really worrying about the fact that the last time Charlie had checked, Cas was the enemy. There was a bigger problem here.

"Cas?" Charlie asked uneasily, looking from Dean to Cas and back to Dean.

"I had to bust him out, Charlie. Crowley told me I had to kill him and I couldn't."

"Nice to meet you," Cas said, sticking his hand out which Charlie shook, slightly more at ease. As Cas looked around the room surveying the damage, Charlie winked at Dean.

"What do you remember?" Dean asked Charlie, ignoring her suggestive wink.

"A bunch of agents came in, they must have gotten the key from the front desk. They knocked me out and Sam put up a fight but there were too many of them, they knew that. They came prepared."

"How long ago was this?" Cas asked, squinting his eyes in thought and slightly tilting his head. Dean had realized he did that from their time together but it was becoming more… adorable? _What? Stop, your brother is gone and you have to get him back. Focus,_ Dean thought furious at himself.

"Like an hour and a half now," Charlie said, looking at her watch. Dean hope neither of them could see the pinkness he could feel at the tops his ears and maybe his cheeks.

"Where would they have taken him?" Cas asked, looking to Dean, causing a bizarre reaction in his stomach.

Charlie looked to him, too. She wasn't used to this side of the CIA, her San Francisco branch was much more relaxed. And followed the law.

"I don't know," Dean said in a small voice, collapsing into the room's chair next to the table, his head falling into his hands.

Cas considered comforting the man but Dean's phone rang. He was getting really sick of that ringtone, it was never good news.

"Hello?"

"I take it you're at the motel and you realize your brother is gone," Crowley said in his usual snide tone.

"Where is he you son of a bitch?" Dean growled, standing up, putting his cell on speaker.

"Oh, dear. Manners, Winchester. I'm not just going to tell you. I want something in return."

"I already told you, you're not getting your hands on Cas." As much as Cas loved to hear Dean protecting him, it didn't make him glad to hear the ultimatum Crowley was delivering.

"I guarantee I will get my hands on Castiel or Alastair will get his hands on Sam."

There was a pause and then Dean heard Sam scream out in pain.

"Sammy!" Dean yelled.

"He's getting an early start, you know how eager he is. I suggest you hurry and bring me my prisoner." The line went dead.

Dean sat back down, his entire body worn down. He hadn't slept or eaten in a ridiculous amount of time and it wasn't healthy but what could he do now? Dean wouldn't sleep until Sam was safe.

"There's only one place Alastair would hold Sam. We have to go back to the warehouse."

"Let's go then, bitches! To the Batmobile," Charlie said, running out of the motel room's door.

"Batmobile? Does that make me Batman?" Dean asked, distracted for a moment, his eyes lighting up with excitement. It was a beautiful sight, those glorious eyes happy, even a quick flash, instead of the sadness and pain that was usually found there. Cas genuinely appreciated Charlie for being able to get Dean to think of something else, even for a brief second.

Dean looked to Cas. "Let's go rescue Sam."

"Why don't you just hand me over? You barely know me." Cas said, facing Dean.

"I do too know you, Cas! We've already been through so much and you know about as much me as there is to know." Dean said, stepping closer to Cas and slightly raising his voice. Didn't Cas know how he felt about him, even the slightest idea?

"It would be easier to give me to Crowley, seriously, why? I'll understand…"

Cas was silenced by Dean's mouth on his. One hand was on Cas's shoulder, the other on his face.

Cas was shocked and froze before gathering himself and returning the kiss. Both of Cas's hands grabbed Dean's waist to pull him closer.

Dean broke the kiss first. "That's why, Cas. Any other stupid questions?"


	14. Chapter 14

Cas couldn't help but smile and neither could Dean.

"Well, that took long enough. Can we go now? Your brother's in danger, remember?" Charlie said from the doorway. Her smirk gave away that she wasn't actually as irritated as her words made it seem.

They all headed out to the Impala, Cas riding shotgun and Charlie in the backseat.

Dean was speeding but stopping at red lights this time on their return to the warehouse.

"We need a plan," Charlie said. "How do we get in?"

"There's only one regular door into the warehouse, the others were sealed shut a long time ago. If we go from the roof, there's another way in that way. But we'll need to create a distraction outside to clear out most of the agents. I'm guessing Crowley and Alastair are keeping it quiet that Sam's there," Dean schemed.

"Sounds good to me. What kind of distraction did you have in mind?" Cas said.

Before Dean could suggest anything, a quick glance in the rearview mirror told him something was wrong.

"Shit, it's that stupid SUV again. Cas, is my gun still over there?"

Cas was way ahead of him. He already had the gun in his hands and was getting ready to fire.

"Charlie, duck, they're going to start shooting," Dean yelled, speeding up even more and swerving through traffic in an attempt to lose the SUV.

"That explains the back window…" Charlie said, mostly to herself. She ignored Dean and pulled her own gun. "I'm not hiding, I'm in this just as much as you are."

Cas and Charlie fired on the SUV and the agents inside responded with their own gunfire.

A couple left turns later, Charlie finally struck a front tire, causing the SUV to spin out of sight. Dean kept driving haphazardly through the streets of D.C. as they made their plan to rescue Sam.

Dean and Cas were on the roof of the warehouse. It was pretty easy to get to, a short jump from the abandoned warehouse next to its roof. The Impala was parked a couple blocks away, Dean said to stay inconspicuous, but Cas figured he didn't want his baby getting shot at again.

The two were waiting on Charlie and the distraction they had prepared.

"So, are we going to talk about what happened?" Cas asked.

Dean looked up from his gun. He clicked the magazine into place, freshly reloaded, and tucked into the back of his pants. "What do you mean?"

"Well, you kissed me, Dean…"

"I don't really think this is the time or place for this, Cas."

"Come on, Dean."

"Fine," he took a deep breath. "I've wanted to do that for a while and I, uh, had hoped you felt the same way…" Dean trailed off, a blush creeping up his face as he ran a hand through his hair.

Cas just laughed.

"What's so funny?" Dean asked, getting defensive and crossing his arms.

"Nothing," Cas said, laughing even more. "You're cute when you're all flustered, that's all."

"Cute? Remember I'm the one who can kick your ass, Novak…"

Dean was interrupted by a loud explosion below.

"That's our cue," Dean said, leaning his head over the edge of the building. Once he saw a steady stream of agents going to check out the burning and destroyed dumpster, they quickly headed over to the door to the stairs to get off the roof.

Charlie had snuck in while the agents ran out and she locked the door behind her. That wouldn't last, considering they all probably took their guns with them, but it was something to slow them down.

She headed to where Dean said they would meet, the staircase to the roof. Just as she was about to open the door, Cas and Dean came through it.

"Great timing. He's got Sam in the basement, there's nowhere else they'd keep him," Dean said, "follow me."

They headed back towards the door to the basement and paused as they entered the hallway full of offices. The trio moved quickly and quietly and were almost at the door when they heard the door to an office open.

"Well, well. Took you long enough." It was a woman, long brown hair and she just looked evil.

"Ruby," Dean spat. Ruby was Alastair's right hand woman and wasn't afraid to get her hands dirty.

"Your brother won't last much longer, Alastair's having so much with him. Shame, too, he had such a pretty face…"

She didn't finish her sentence as Dean charged at her. They were both skilled at hand to hand combat and it was a pretty even match. Punches were thrown and blocked, kicks too, until Dean finally got a solid hit into her side and then his opposite hand connected with her face. He threw her into the wall and she slid down, unconscious.

"Come on," Dean said, without looking back at Ruby. He, Cas and Charlie headed down the stairs.

Oddly enough, there was no guard seated at the bottom of the stairs. It was creepily quiet, too until a scream rang throughout the basement. It was filled with such pain and anguish that it shook the three of them to the core.

"Sammy!" Dean yelled, not caring who came out to challenge him. There was no way his brother would be hurt anymore, not because of him, and nothing could stop him from getting him out of here.

Dean ran in the direction of the scream and flew into the room he guessed the scream came from. It was empty. He ran out and tried again. He kept going until he finally got it right.

"Ah, Dean, there you are. I was hoping you would make it. Come to watch the show?" Alastair sneered.

"Let my brother go you bastard," Dean growled.

It was a large room, bigger than the one Cas was kept in before, but darker. The walls and floor were dark and the only lightbulb in here was dim.

Sam was sitting in a chair and hadn't moved since Dean came in. His head was drooped down so his chin was touching his chest and there was blood dripping down onto his shirt. His shirt was already cut and bloody in many places.

Alastair smiled maliciously, still holding a knife. It was one of many tools down here, the others on a tray on the table to the right of Sam. It made Dean sick to his stomach to think of what his brother went through. _It's all my fault, Sammy, I'm so sorry… you have to be okay…_

Alastair stepped back so Dean could approach Sam. He lifted his head and assessed the damage. There were countless bruises and cuts, his left eye was swollen shut and his nose looked broken. Since Alastair didn't appear interested in fighting Dean, he grabbed a knife from the table to begin to cut Sam free.

"Sam? Come on, man, wake up. I've got you, just wake up. Sam!" Dean worked through the rope tying Sam's hands and feet to the chair continuously talking to Sam in an attempt to wake him.

The ropes fell to the ground and Dean stood.

"Not so fast, Winchester."

Dean turned to see Crowley by the door, his hands in his pockets. Ruby was holding Charlie by knifepoint and another agent who Dean recognized as Meg, another of Crowley's cronies, had Cas by knifepoint as well.

Alastair kept smiling that awful smile by the wall, his arms crossed, and Sam stayed silent.

"Nice shiner, bitch," Dean aimed at Ruby, who indeed was already sporting quite the black eye.

She was about to retort but Crowley held up his hand to silence her.

"Here's how this plays out, Dean. I let Sam and your redhead here go…"

"Yeah? In exchange for what?"

"I keep Castiel. And you."

Dean's stomach sank. He had failed to keep everyone who mattered to him safe.

**AN: As always, thanks for reading! Please leave a review, I love those! **


	15. Chapter 15

Dean was ready to answer Crowley when Sam woke up. "Dean…?" he moaned, trying to blink away the pain.

"Heya, Sammy," Dean said. He was still standing by Sam and put a hand on his shoulder.

"What's going on?" Sam asked, realizing how many people were in the room.

"I came to rescue you, obviously," Dean smirked, hiding his helplessness with humor.

"Yeah, looks like you're doing great so far," Sam said, noticing that Cas and Charlie were being held by Meg and Ruby.

"Actually, I am. Crowley said you can go, isn't that right?"

Sam looked to Crowley who nodded. "Just like that?"

"Just like that," Crowley responded, winking at Dean when Sam looked down.

Sam stood shakily, leaning heavily on Dean. He helped him to the door.

"Wait, what about you?" Sam stopped and looked sideways at Dean, who had made sure to keep Sam on his non-wounded arm.

"What about me? I'm fine, man. Let's worry about you," Dean lied, convincingly he hoped.

Sam reluctantly kept moving out the door and towards the stairs. Meg and Ruby, dragging Cas and Charlie, followed after, then Crowley and Alastair. The group headed up the stairs and towards the front door. The agents who were upstairs must have picked the lock to get back in, Charlie assumed it had been pretty easy for them.

At the front door, Crowley snuck up behind Dean and Sam, pushing only Sam out the door, followed by Ruby shoving Charlie after him. Alastair slammed the door shut and locked it.

"Dean! Dean!" Sam was yelling and pounding on the door.

Dean hung his head as Crowley grabbed his arm and barked, "They don't get back in. Got it?"

There were murmurs of agreement. Dean wondered how many laws had been broken here, what awful events… some of which he took part in. There was nothing Dean could do now, Crowley had him hostage and worse, he had Cas. The whole point was to keep Cas safe but Dean tried to take comfort that Sam made it out. It only helped a little.

Cas and Dean were led back downstairs.

Crowley and Alastair dragged Dean into a room while Meg and Ruby disappeared with Cas.

Alastair shoved Dean forcefully into the chair, the only thing in the small room, smaller than the room Cas had been in. That seemed like another lifetime, when the men in this room were on the same side as him instead of holding him captive and he and Cas were enemies instead of… Dean didn't know what they were now. At least friends but friends didn't kiss each other.

Before Dean could think more about Cas and their developing relationship or whatever it was, Crowley interrupted his thoughts.

"So, Winchester, got anything to say for yourself?"

"How about 'fuck you'?"

Alastair punched him hard in the face, right in the cheek. Feeling just that punch, Dean was beginning to regret the hell he had put Cas through earlier because he knew he punched a lot harder than Alastair.

"You treacherous little…"

"Look who's talking! Does _anything_ legal happen here? You should be rotting in jail," Dean snarled.

"You'll be right there with me. You're a part of what happens here and you broke out one of our prisoners," Alastair said cooly.

"Speaking of Castiel, why don't you go pay him a visit? Let Meg and Ruby take a break," Crowley suggested.

Alastair's eyes narrowed. "You do remember I'm the boss, correct?"

"Just a suggestion. Boss."

Dean knew Alastair would do to Cas what he did to Sam and Cas was already messed up, he was bloody, exhausted and hungry. He couldn't let that happen.

"Forget him, I'm the interesting one. Why don't you stay for a while?" Dean said. He was attempting to make it sound like a challenge to pique Alastair's interest.

Alastair punched him in his bullet wound causing him to cry out in pain then he left in a huff leaving Dean alone with Crowley and blinking away the black spots at the edge of his vision.

"Now. I think you should start convincing me _not_ to kill you because I really want to. Castiel is as good as dead, has been since the moment you brought him here the first time, but you? You, I want to live. I want you living, working for me, knowing you tried and failed, again, to save someone. But I could manage with you being dead as well. What do you got?"

"Bite me."

* * *

Across the hall, though neither Cas nor Dean knew the other one was so close, Cas sat in an identical room to Dean's with Meg and Ruby for company.

The door opened and Alastair walked in. "You two can go now."

"But…" Meg sputtered.

One cold glare from Alastair was enough to send the women on their way.

Once the door shut behind them, Alastair slowly advanced on Cas.

"Well, well, the infamous Castiel. What a pleasure," Alastair said in his usual cold montone.

Cas tried to keep from shivering but between the temperature of the basement cell and Alastair's awful voice it was impossible. He hoped Dean would be okay with Crowley because from what he heard, Alastair was worse. Cas was glad he was here and not hurting Dean.

"You don't need Dean, let him go," Cas pleaded.

Alastair just grinned while pulling a knife out of his jacket. "I haven't even gotten started with you two, why should I let you go? We're going to have so much fun."

* * *

After recoiling from Crowley's punch for saying 'bite me,' Dean heard a scream that sounded like it was from across the hall.

"Cas?" Dean yelled, not caring what Crowley made of it. He needed Cas to hear him, to know he cared and to know how sorry he was.

"Oh dear, you're not supposed to nickname your pets or you get too attached," Crowley said through an evil smile.

"What is your problem, Crowley? Cas didn't know anything but I was supposed to kill him?"

"He's been here, it's kind of hard to let someone walk after that and he was of no further use if he didn't know anything."

"What about the Angel Project?"

Crowley didn't say anything. He pulled out an energy bar and threw it to Dean.

"Don't go anywhere," Crowley said as he left the room.


	16. Chapter 16

Dean waited until the door shut to eat the energy bar Crowley threw him. It was ridiculous that he hadn't eaten in a day. Maybe more? Dean couldn't remember. He had been running on pure adrenaline for what seemed like ages.

As he dropped the wrapper on the ground, he heard another scream.

"Cas! Dammit, leave him alone you sons of bitches," Dean yelled, pounding on the door. Of course it was locked but it didn't hurt to try.

After a moment, the door swung open, almost hitting Dean. He took a startled step back as Crowley reentered the room and quickly shut the door behind him.

"Sit back down, Dean," Crowley commanded. Dean didn't move.

"Let Cas go."

"You took the deal. What would the CIA be without integrity? You knew what would happen if you both stayed but you chose your brother as I knew you would. Alastair is making quick work of poor Castiel, he already looks worse than Sam, although you roughed him up pretty good so thanks for that. Now, sit."

Defeated, Dean sat. Despite Cas and himself being stuck here, he knew he had to get Sam out of here. He just hoped Cas could forgive him for bringing him back here even if he would never forgive himself.

"Now, what were we talking about before I left?" Crowley asked.

"The Angel Project."

"Right. And I was about to tell you nothing about it, of course."

"Sam and Charlie found documents with your name in them about the Angel Project."

"Really? Maybe I shouldn't have let them go then."

"But you have to keep the deal and maintain your integrity," Dean mocked.

"Yes, I suppose I do," Crowley said, not amused. "Now, what would my name be doing on anything regarding the Angel Project?"

"I don't know, because you're a part of whatever the hell it is?"

"Give the man a star. But you still don't know what it is."

"I'll find out and then I'll destroy you, Crowley."

* * *

Cas had just regained consciousness. The pain of Alastair's knife had been too much and Cas's first thought was that he wanted to be out cold again. Being awake hurt, everywhere hurt. He couldn't see straight and he was covered in large cuts and bruises across his face, neck, arms and chest. Also, one deep stab in his leg. Thank God he had left his bullet wound alone for now and Cas prayed he didn't know about it or wouldn't remember if he did.

"Good morning. Ready to go again?"

Cas just turned his head to the left and spat out blood. "Do your worst."

He screamed, although his voice was getting hoarse from doing so, as Alastair's knife found a spot it hadn't before in his side. It wasn't too deep but he slashed up and Cas's vision blurred. He was once again on the edge of passing out. He thought of Dean, pictured his eyes right before he had kissed him, and regained his focus as his scream died out.

There was a voice that sounded like Dean's calling his name but that was probably because Cas slightly delirious from blood loss and he didn't think too much of it.

As the room came into focus, he saw Crowley in the doorway. He couldn't be sure how long he had been standing there.

"Oh dear, Castiel, a little worse for wear, I'm afraid. Shouldn't be too much longer and you'll be done."

"You mean dead?"

"Isn't that what I said?" Crowley grinned as he exited the room.

"Now, for the big finale," Alastair smirked, cleaning off the knife and getting ready for the last few cuts to end Castiel's life.

* * *

"Destroy me? It's a lot bigger than me," Crowley said.

"It has to do with the Russians, too, that's why we needed Cas," Dean reasoned.

"Another bonus for you, you're on fire," Crowley said sarcastically.

There was a knock on the door. Crowley answered it and Dean could see Meg was on the other side of the door. They spoke in hushed tones so Dean couldn't hear.

Dean, never having been handcuffed or tied to anything, slowly crept behind Crowley and slammed his fist into the back of his head. He crumpled to the floor, though still conscious. He dodged his hand trying to grab his leg and pushed past Meg to cross the hall.

"Cas! Are you okay? I'll get you out I swear…" Dean said as he attempted to open the door. Meg grabbed one arm and Dean tried to get out of her steely grip and almost did until Crowley snatched his other arm and they dragged him back into the cell as he yelled for Cas and promised to save him. Hell, he wasn't even disappointed in being caught, he wasn't trying to escape. Dean just needed Cas to know he was close, that he cared.

Meg disappeared when Crowley told her to, the door locking again behind her. Dean, again in the chair, looked at the floor until Crowley roughly grabbed his chin to force him to look up at him.

"Look, Dean, Castiel is as good as dead, I told you that. Forget him. You can still be useful to us, what do you say? Save yourself here, join me." He let go of Dean and stepped back.

"You want me to join the Angel Project?"

"Yes."

"I don't even know what it is."

"I'll inform you as we go."

There was a loud _BOOM_ that sounded like an explosion from somewhere close by. Crowley headed to the door to check it out and mumbled something that sounded like 'bloody hell' under his breath.

As soon as the door opened, a fist flew in knocking Crowley down and unconscious, unlike Dean's hit.

"Holy crap," Dean muttered as Sam and Charlie entered the room. "What the hell…"

"No time, follow me if you want to live," Charlie said. She paused and then smiled. "I've always wanted to say that.

Sam still looked horribly exhausted and beaten but was still going and fighting. Dean stepped over Crowley and followed them into the hallway. He pointed at the door where he knew Cas was and Sam shot the lock twice when he found he couldn't open it.

Dean kicked in the door and charged in in time to see Alastair shove his knife into Cas's stomach and remove it.

There had never been a worse sight than Alastair as he turned to face the three, grinning and holding the bloody knife. Sam charged at him as Dean ran to Cas, holding his battered face in his hands.

"Dean…" Cas moaned before his eyes closed.

"No, Cas, come on, stay with me…Cas? Cas!"


	17. Chapter 17

**AN: A couple new characters this chapter, enjoy!**

* * *

Dean scooped Cas up and yelled to Sam and Charlie that they had to get to a hospital. Sam had taken care of Alastair and they left the cell. Crowley was still knocked out across the hall.

Dean followed Sam and Charlie through an unlocked and empty cell. The back wall was blown away showing stairs leading up to the warehouse's parking lot.

"After we got thrown out, there were some leftover explosives we put to good use," Sam explained as they continued out of the building.

They made a beeline for the Impala which was still parked a few blocks away. Once there, Dean placed Cas in the backseat and got in with him, throwing Sam the keys and Charlie rode shotgun. Sam, though not as reckless as Dean, was not afraid to drive like a madman to the hospital.

"Come on, Cas, you gotta be okay… please," Dean mumbled, holding Cas's head in his lap. The two up front looked uneasily at each other. Cas had lost a lot of blood and the last wound might have been too much.

Once at the hospital, Dean carried Cas in and placed him on a stretcher near where the ambulances bring people.

"What happened?" a doctor asked.

"Never mind that, just save him!" Dean shouted. He tried to follow them as Cas was wheeled away but a doctor said he was going into surgery and Dean had to stay out here.

Dean was about to put up a fight but Sam put an arm on his shoulder and led him to a chair. Charlie sat next to him as a pretty blonde nurse led Sam towards a room to get some medical attention as well, despite his protests.

"Dean…"

"I can't lose him, Charlie. It's all my fault and this can't happen, not again. Everyone I care about gets hurt because of me." He could feel his eyes sting as they welled up with tears.

"Dean, it isn't your fault. You didn't hurt him…"

"I brought him there! Twice! Don't try to tell me…" Dean trailed off. He looked away from Charlie as one tear fell down his cheek. "He just has to be okay," Dean whispered. Charlie put her arm around his shoulders.

After about twenty minutes, Sam came back all patched up.

"Good as new," he said. "How about I run and get us something from the cafeteria?"

Charlie decided to go with to let Dean just be alone and think.

No one liked hospitals and it especially had never been anywhere Dean had wanted to be. He had come with his Dad and Sam to identify his mom when he was little, then there was when his Dad died and Bobby…

Not anymore, Dean thought. Cas will be fine and we can retire. If there had been any doubt in his mind before, this disaster definitely cleared it up. He liked and cared about Cas and had for some time. Sure, Sam had given him a lot of crap for obsessing over Cas and Dean had played it off like it had been just the job but it was never that way with Cas.

"Are you Dean Winchester?"

Dean looked up, expecting to see a doctor but it was just a regular guy. He was on the shorter side of average with light brown hair and a very mischievous demeanor to him. Dean stood up.

"Maybe. Who wants to know?"

"Gabriel. I'm Cas's partner." Dean shook his outstretched hand. There wasn't much about Gabriel in Cas's files and the few pictures were blurry but Dean could tell it was him.

"How'd you…"

"Find you? Hellooo, secret agent? When Cassie didn't answer his phone, I followed his trail from San Francisco to Chicago to here. What the hell happened to him?"

"If you're his partner, you know I've been trying to catch him. Well, I did and my boss wasn't too nice to him."

"You didn't stop him?"

"I couldn't. I tried to help Cas and then Crowley turned on me, too."

Gabriel was about to say something when a doctor walked up.

"You're Winchester, the one who brought in the guy in the trenchcoat?"

"Yeah, how is he?"

"The surgery's done and we did the best we could to patch him up. There was a large amount of blood loss. He's resting and well…"

"Well, what?" Dean demanded.

"We're not sure when, or if, he'll wake up. I'm sorry," The doctor hung his head sympathetically and walked away.

Dean had to sit back down and Gabriel sat next to him.

Charlie and Sam returned with some food and puzzled looks.

"Who's this?" Charlie asked. Dean introduced Gabriel to them.

* * *

After about an hour of eating and then mostly silence, the same nurse that had helped Sam came out and said they could move to Cas's room if they wanted. The nurse seemed really into Sam and her nametag said _Jessica._

"You guys go ahead, I wouldn't want it to be too crowded," Sam said, his eyes not leaving her.

"All right, Sammy," Dean said with a wink. Despite the situation, there was always room for Dean to be an annoying big brother.

Dean, Gabriel and Charlie headed into Cas's room. He was in a hospital gown and was attached to a ridiculous amount of machines. He was pale and looked like he had been dragged through Hell.

More than anything, Dean wanted to hold Cas's hand and never let go, to stay by his side and be the first face he saw when he woke up but Gabriel and Charlie were here. The three sat in the chairs in the room, Dean taking the one closest to Cas, and they were slightly more comfortable than the ones in the waiting room.

"So, Gabriel, you and Cas both were taken from school to become agents right?" Dean asked.

"Yeah, why?"

"Just wondering. It's hard to know a guy just from his file, I wanted to hear about him from you, I guess," Dean said softly.

"He's special, you know?" Gabriel said and Dean nodded. "He has such a huge heart, always has. That made it difficult for him to be an agent, he always questioned orders. It seems like every day he was in trouble with Raphael, the boss." He laughed to himself and Dean smiled.

"Does your boss know you're here?" Charlie asked.

"That I'm in America, yes. He doesn't know Cas is hurt, though. Or that I'm not currently doing my job."

They stayed in the room a little longer until a nurse came to kick them out because visiting hours were over. Charlie and Gabriel went to find Sam and clear out but Dean didn't move.

"I'm sorry, sir, only family can stay after visiting hours end…"

Dean flashed his CIA badge and fed some bullshit lie and the nurse left. Sam came to get him as they left but Dean told him he wasn't leaving.

He wasn't leaving this room unless it was hand in hand with Cas. That much Dean knew for sure.

**AN: Thanks for reading, leave a review if you have a minute or two! They brighten my day and keep me going.**


	18. Chapter 18

**AN: All the reviews have been so great, thank you all so much!**

Dean woke to his name being called very quietly. He took a moment to adjust and remember he was still in the hospital room with Cas. The chair was pushed close to the bed and Dean had fallen asleep sitting but holding Cas's hand. After remembering where he was, his next thought was how much his back hurt. And then he wondered how long he'd been asleep. He checked his watch, it had only been four hours. Dean was rubbing sleep out of his eyes when he heard his name again.

"Dean?" Cas said as he too woke up, looking over at Dean with his not swollen eye.

"Cas! You're… Are you…? Holy crap! How do you feel?" Dean stammered.

"Like holy crap." Cas said with a smile but then winced from his bruised and cut lips. Dean let out a small laugh.

Dean wouldn't say it but Cas looked like crap, too. One amazing blue eye was shut and cuts and bruises were everywhere, not to mention he looked exhausted. Although, Dean probably looked almost as exhausted but at least not battered so who was he to judge.

"Well, you seem okay, for the most part, and that's the important thing," Dean said. He was still holding Cas's hand but Cas didn't seem to mind so he held on. Dean also had leaned in more so they were pretty close.

"Yeah, thanks to you," Cas said, smiling so his good eye lit up.

"I'm the one who brought you there, though. It's my fault you're hurt, you and Sam…"

"Is Sam okay?"

"He's fine but that's not the point. I'm sorry, Cas. I'm sorry you got hurt because of me."

"You didn't drag me back to the warehouse, Dean. I _wanted_ to help save Sam. I knew the risks. But it was worth it to save Sam."

"You barely know him and you're beat to hell, what do you mean it was worth it?"

"He's important to you so he's important to me."

"Why would that matter?"

Instead of answering, Cas used his hand that Dean wasn't holding to grab the back of Dean's head and pull him in for a kiss. It was short and sweet because of the condition of Cas's lips but wonderful all the same.

"That's why. Any more stupid questions?" Cas smiled again despite the pain and Dean laughed more than Cas had ever heard him laugh. He decided it was the best sound he had ever heard. He also decided there was no way he could ever go a day without hearing Dean's laugh again.

* * *

The two talked for a little more before Dean decided to let Cas get some more rest. Dean stepped into the hallway to make a few phone calls. The first, he thought, should go to Cas's partner.

"Hey, Gabriel, it's Dean."

"Dean-o! What's…_hiccup_… up?"

"Are you drunk?"

"Maybe a little… _yeah, lots of chocolate syrup…_" The last half was said to someone Gabriel was with. He said something else and Dean could hear a couple of women giggling.

"And with some chicks. Great." Dean rolled his eyes.

"Did you call to lecture or something else?" Gabriel slurred.

"Something else. Cas woke up."

"He did? Well, let me to talk to him!"

"He went back to sleep, he needs his rest."

"Right, right. Well, then I'll come visit tomorrow morning then!" The line clicked.

Dean couldn't blame the guy for having a little fun. He was almost jealous how carefree he could be during all of this.

Of course, Dean's next call was to Sam. Oddly, there was no answer so Dean called Charlie.

"Mmm… hello?"

"Charlie, hey, it's Dean."

"Dean… yeah, Dean… Dean?" She clearly had been woken up by this phone call and was very groggy.

"Winchester. Dean Winchester?"

"Right, duh. What's up?" she managed before yawning. Dean let her finish the yawn before answering.

"Cas woke up."

"That's great! Did you let Sam and Gabriel know?"

"I called Gabriel first then Sam. Sam didn't answer. Do you know where he is?"

"Oh, right. He left with that nurse… Jessica I think her name was? They really hit it off."

"All right. Swing by the hospital tomorrow morning, try to bring Sam if he's not too busy."

"Will do. Night, Dean."

"Night, Charlie."

Dean was glad his brother was with someone, it honestly had been a while. It had been a while for Dean, too. The job kind of made it hard for steady, long term relationships. One night stands, Dean could do, but relationships? Not really Dean's thing.

As he thought about that, he walked back into Cas's room and sat down, right next to him, and held his hand again. If there was one person who could make Dean change his mind about relationships, it would be Cas. There wasn't another time in Dean's life that he could think of that he had such a strong connection with someone, ever. He definitely would break the one night stand rule of Dean's, he didn't want to ditch him. Ever. Not hand holding was another rule of Dean's, it was too intimate, but he was willing to break that rule for Cas, too.

* * *

The next morning, the five of them gathered in Cas's hospital room. Dean was still in the same chair but wasn't holding Cas's hand. It was a little crowded and the nurse who kept coming to check on Cas was clearly getting annoyed at them.

"Honestly, I'm fine. Go grab breakfast or something," Cas said. He looked a little less tired but still awful in general.

"Oh, I already had breakfast," Gabriel said with a wink. Cas rolled his eyes.

"What about you, Sam, any breakfast with Jessica?" Dean asked with a smirk.

Sam immediately blushed. "How did you… what…"

They all laughed.

"Whatever, she had to work early… maybe she's here?" Sam wondered, looking out the door of the room obviously.

"Wow, someone's crushing hard," Charlie said.

"Whatever," Sam repeated, though he was grinning.

"As adorable as Sam is," Dean said, earning a signature Sam Winchester bitchface from his little brother, "we still have a huge problem to deal with."

"We do?" Gabriel asked.

"Yeah, Crowley," Cas said. Dean grabbed Cas's, hand, figuring that these were the people to care the least about Dean being with Cas and would be happy for them. If they made it out of this whole mess.

Dean smiled at Cas. "Well, let's deal with that problem once and for all, how's that sound?"

The resounding cheers and high fives were a clear indication that this team was on board.

Crowley was going down.

**AN: As always, thanks for reading. Leave a review and let me know what you thought!**


	19. Chapter 19

"But how?" Gabriel asked.

No one had an answer. It would be hard to get Crowley to talk, nearly impossible. Also, they would have to trap him first.

"We need to get him somewhere, somewhere where he can talk. And he has to believe he's in a safe location, safe to talk," Cas said.

"Maybe if I make it seem like I'm back on his side, like I'm turning back?" Dean suggested.

"That would work," Sam said. "If you can make it seem like you just want to talk and that you're coming back, he should feel okay telling you everything we need to bring him down."

"He told me he wants me to join the Angel Project. I can tell him I'm in if he tells me about it first. Then, we have information. We end the Project and we end Crowley," Dean explained.

Everyone was on board, but more planning would be involved. They would have to think of a place to get trap Crowley and he would have to think Dean came alone. It would be difficult, though, Crowley's not an idiot. He's the boss for a reason.

Sam, Gabriel and Charlie headed to the cafeteria to let Dean and Cas be alone.

"You sure you're still on board?" Dean asked Cas.

"Of course, Dean. You need me, you can tell Crowley you'll bring me in, that I'm the reason you're rejoining him because I lied to you and you're done protecting me."

"Oh, I need you?" Dean smirked.

"That's all you got from that, Winchester?" Cas asked, though with a smile. "And yes, you do."

"You need me more, or you'd be dead," Dean teased with a wink. Cas kept smiling.

"Whatever, we need to make a plan."

They threw some ideas around until the other three came back.

"We have a plan," Cas and Dean said together. They laughed and Dean squeezed Cas's hand that he hadn't let go of yet. He wasn't planning on letting go anytime soon.

* * *

They all decided to rest and relax for the remainder of the day, mostly for Cas and partially Sam to let them recover. Dean was also pretty freaking exhausted but he was trying to not let it show. He kind of created this mess and dragged everyone else into it so it was his job to keep them safe which would only happen if he stayed strong. So, he sucked it up. Like always.

Besides recuperating, the team would be planning. Dean and Cas had decided that the place for Dean to talk to Crowley would be a diner. It was public enough so Crowley couldn't easily kill Dean and still possible to plant a bug to get evidence.

For now, the cramped hospital room was their headquarters, at least until visiting hours ended.

"So, Sammy, are you going to hang out with Jessica again?" Dean said with a grin, causing Sam to blush.

"I might be," Sam scoffed.

"He is! We ran into her downstairs, she's so nice, and he asked her out to dinner tonight because he knew we weren't busy and she might have a friend for me and… oh," Charlie rambled rapidly until seeing Sam's glare. "I mean… he might be."

"Thanks, Charlie," Sam said, trying to sound irritated but failing.

"What about you Gabriel? Plans for this evening?" Cas asked.

"Not really, maybe just order up some room service and pay-per-view, if you know what I mean," Gabriel said, wiggling his eyebrows up and down suggestively.

"We know what you mean, Gabriel," Dean said.

Sam left at around six to go to his date with Jessica while Charlie and Gabriel stayed until visiting hours ended at eight. A different nurse than last night tried to make Dean leave, but he again used his badge and a lie to stay.

"Really, you should go to a hotel, get some real sleep," Cas insisted.

"Not a chance. I'm staying with you. Besides, you need me, remember?" Dean smirked.

It didn't take long for them both to fall asleep with Dean holding Cas's hand.

* * *

Bright and early, the team reassembled to get this operation into motion.

"Can we name the operation?" Gabriel asked. He was in the chair Dean had slept in. He had given it up to stretch a bit, he had been sitting for too long.

"No," was the answer as everyone shut him down together.

"Why not?" He whined.

"We don't have time," Cas pointed out. "We have to move fast."

The plan was to set a lunchtime meeting with Crowley. It was decided Gabriel would plant the bug in a potted plant next to a booth and pay a waitress to keep that table clear for Dean and Crowley. They were all banking on the hope that Crowley wouldn't know who Gabriel was if he were to survey the diner before entering, which he probably would.

Dean had his phone at the ready. "We good to go?" he asked after they ran over every last detail of the plan. The team nodded and Dean dialed Crowley's number.

"Winchester. Why are you bothering me? Haven't you already joined Russia's side? I would've thought they'd have given you a new boss," Crowley drawled after answering.

"Look, I was wrong," Dean started. This wasn't easy for Dean, to grovel, but it would be worth it. Hopefully.

"Oh?" Crowley said, pausing to let him know he should continue.

"I was wrong about Castiel, about you, about the whole thing. I messed up." Cas's eyebrows raised at the use of his full name, but he knew it was all for effect.

"You're damn right you messed up. Is this you crawling back to me, trying to get back into the good graces of the CIA?"

Dean paused, hating Crowley more than ever, before simply answering, "Yes."

"Well, well, how touching. I'm getting all tingly in a special place."

Dean could hear his stupid smirk and wanted to smack it off him. "I can bring you Castiel and I'll join the Angel Project."

"I recall you telling me you would bring me Castiel twice before and then you ran away with him both times. Why would I believe you now?"

"I thought I could I trust him, he was brainwashing me, all right? He used me to escape and I'm done trusting him or protecting him. He's all yours." Dean was looking at the floor. It was hard for him to say this and even harder for Cas to hear it, even if he knew he was lying.

"What makes you think I'm interested anymore?"

"How about we just meet, okay? There's a diner right by the Smithsonian, you know the one?"

"Fine. When?"

"Two hours."

"Come alone."

"I will if you do," Dean answered and hung up.


	20. Chapter 20

**AN: Sorry it's a little shorter than usual! The next will be long, I promise. Thanks for reading, please review!**

Dean headed to the booth they had all decided on. It could be seen from outside and was in Gabriel's line of view from his secluded booth by the kitchen where he sat pretending to read a newspaper. The waitress led him there and winked as he sat down. Dean wasn't sure what or how much Gabriel had told her to convince her to keep the booth open and it made him uneasy. What if she was one of Crowley's? Or part of this Angel Project?

There was much more time for thinking because Crowley strolled into the diner. He was wearing a smart suit and tie, all black, and his signature smug look. He was under the impression that Dean was surrendering to him and that he had won. Dean tried to look beat to keep that idea up because it was really their only form of leverage against Crowley.

"Dean. What a pleasure," Crowley smirked as he sat down.

"So, did you think about my offer?" Dean asked, getting right down to business.

"Take it easy, aren't you going to buy me lunch before sweet talking me?"

Dean took a deep breath to avoid slamming his fist into Crowley's arrogant face. "Fine." It had seemed like Crowley was joking, but when the waitress came back over, he actually ordered burgers and fries for the both of them.

"About the Angel Project…" Dean started, tired of waiting. This had to get started and it had to be recorded.

"Whoa!" Crowley exclaimed loudly, causing a few heads to turn. Dean saw Gabriel discreetly look over the top of his newspaper.

"What?" Dean asked, unsure what the problem was.

"Secret government project? Maybe not the best place? Jeez, you're lucky you have your looks! It's pretty obvious why I got this job instead of you when Bobby died."

"Don't EVER talk about Bobby, not you. You could never be HALF the agent he was, just shut up!" Dean said, very close to yelling. He took another deep breath. Now was not the time to get emotional. _Try for logic,_ Dean thought. "That's another thing, how _did_ you get that job over me? Or Sam? Hell, even Garth had a better track record back then and you know how he is."

Crowley narrowed his eyes, clearly offended. "You know, this is a lot of questions right out the gate. I can't help but be suspicious. Are you wearing a wire?"

"What? No! Why would I be?" Dean lied, hoping the wavering in his voice was only in his head. He tried hard to control his heartbeat and not to fidget too much. They both knew what to look for when someone was lying so Dean was trying his hardest to make sure those signs weren't there.

"Really? Then unbutton your shirt."

"Crowley, so straight forward and after all these years…" Dean smirked, always the smart-ass.

"Now or I'm leaving." Crowley responded, his no nonsense voice that people feared coming out. He had his arms crossed over his chest and he sort of looked like a pouting child. Dean would have laughed but this would have been the exact wrong time for that.

Dean sighed but did what Crowley asked. He unbuttoned his shirt enough to let Crowley know he was clean. The waitress chose that particular moment to bring over their food and winked at Dean again. He rolled his eyes as he buttoned up. Crowley then checked under the table as well for a wire. Satisfied he didn't find any, he came back up.

"Adorable. She doesn't know you play for the other team," Crowley mocked as he dragged a fry through some ketchup and bit into it, his eyes watching the waitress at two tables over.

"What are you talking about? You've known about all of my relationships, you did background checks on them, remember?" Dean snapped, still hoping he was lying convincingly.

"Of course," he answered simply. "and they've all been women. But what about Castiel?"

"What about him?" Dean said, not touching his food even though he desperately wanted to. He would not give Crowley any satisfaction, not even something that small.

"Normally, an agent doesn't get that close with their target."

"He brainwashed me and I thought I could trust him, that's it. And I was wrong, like I told you before."

"Sure, sure," Crowley winked as he picked up his burger to start in on that.

"He's in my trunk right now, tied up."

"Oh, my. You two are kinkier than I would have thought," Crowley said, smiling through a mouthful of burger.

"Not like that, you sick son of a bitch. He's my hostage, again, and I'm bringing him to you. Again."

"Just like that?"

"If I can come back and join the Ang…" Dean paused, "you know what I mean."

Crowley placed his burger down and wiped his hands and face off with a napkin. He then placed that down as well, painstakingly slow, as he chose he next words quite carefully.

"I don't know how forgiving I can be, Dean. You betrayed me, twice. You knocked me out, gave Ruby a black eye. Hell, you shot a few of our agents! Your own people and for what?"

Dean didn't answer. He had gotten shot too, but that wasn't the point. The point here was that Crowley had to believe Dean was begging his way back.

"Now, you're telling me that you're just going to hand over the guy you risked your life for, on several occasions, to join me? I've done nothing for you," Crowley continued.

"You're my boss. I made some bad choices but I'll make up for it. Honestly, whatever this thing is, just tell me and I'm on board."

"I'll need time to mull it over. How about we meet again? Let's same place, same time tomorrow." Crowley stood to stand and Dean began to panic. They had nothing recorded that would incriminate Crowley or anyone else.

Crowley turned to leave and Dean let him. He pulled out his phone and sent a text to Gabriel, Cas, Sam and Charlie. All it said was, "Plan B."


	21. Chapter 21

**AN: As promised, a long chapter! The longest yet. Enjoy!**

* * *

The plan was put into action. Crowley was leaving, but without anything to use from the recorded conversation, something else had to be done and fast.

In front of the diner, Sam drove up in the Impala with Cas next to him. Sam parked and they both got out to block Crowley on the sidewalk as he made a right turn out of the diner's door.

"I figured Dean was lying," was the only thing Crowley said before turning to go the other way. Charlie stepped out of the alley to block him as Dean and Gabriel came out of the diner.

They had Crowley surrounded.

"I thought we agreed to come alone?" Crowley said, rather irritated. His hands were in the air in surrender.

"I lied. I do that," Dean sneered, half expecting Crowley's people to come out of nowhere and start shooting. But, to be fair, Crowley was a man of his word. If it weren't for the recent hell they had all suffered at Crowley's hands, Dean would feel guilty for lying. However, satisfaction was too overwhelming to allow negative emotions in at the moment.

"I've noticed," was Crowley's retort.

Sam flipped Dean the keys to the Impala as the group herded Crowley into the backseat of the car with Charlie and Cas on either side of him, Sam riding shotgun and Dean driving. Gabriel went back into the diner to get their wire, probably get that waitress's number if he hadn't already, and said he would meet up with them later.

"This is ridiculous, where are we going?" Crowley asked as Dean shifted to park and eased into the midday traffic. "You can't expect me to disappear and have no one notice."

"We took care of that," Sam said. They had called Garth to have him make up a lie about where Crowley was at the moment so it wouldn't be suspicious when he didn't return from lunch.

"You are all digging your own graves right now," Crowley snarled.

"Keep talking and you can ride in the trunk," Dean replied.

"It's not pleasant, let me tell you. The backseat is preferable," Cas affirmed.

"Oh yeah, sorry again about that," Dean said, looking remorsefully at Cas through the rearview mirror. Cas smiled in response letting Dean know he had already moved on from that and everything else Dean did when they were technically enemies.

"If you're going to be all sappy, I would _prefer_ the trunk," Crowley mumbled.

"Shut up," the other four said together.

* * *

"I think I know where we're going, Dean, but are you sure?" Sam asked.

"Yeah," Dean answered.

No one in the back seat knew where that meant but two of them trusted the Winchesters to make a good decision.

They had been driving for maybe an hour and were getting farther and farther from the city.

"Oh dear. I know where we are," Crowley quipped. No one said anything. "This was your back-up plan if your meeting didn't go well?" Then, more under his breath, "Should have tried plan D for dumb-ass."

"Shut up," everyone else said again. Crowley rolled his eyes, not feeling like his comedic relief was being appreciated.

The Impala was driving onto a large plot of land with an old, large house and a ridiculous amount of old cars in varying stages of disarray along with random pieces and parts strewn about. The sign to the left read "Singer Auto Repair." The place used to be Bobby's. He had run it when he had time away from the CIA and he had been close to retiring when he was killed so he would have been able to spend more time here. Ellen and Jo couldn't bear to part with it even if they didn't really run it anymore. They were too busy with the bar they ran, The Roadhouse.

Dean parked and they got out, Charlie and Cas each taking one of Crowley's arms. They followed Dean and Sam into the rather huge garage. Sam found a chair that they shoved Crowley into and tied him to.

"I can't believe this place hasn't been bulldozed. It's been what, three years?" Crowley mused.

Dean punched him in the face and was about to again before Sam grabbed his arm. "Save it. This might take a while. We need information, okay? Make the hits count."

He took a step back and allowed himself to calm down and listen to his brother's words. It was true, Crowley had information but wouldn't be willing to give it so it could be a while before Dean cracked him. There was already blood in the corner of his mouth and maybe trying to talk to him would be better.

"Fine," Dean said then turned to face Crowley. "What is the Angel Project?"

Crowley didn't say anything.

"Come on, this would be easier if you just talked, Crowley. I'm tired and don't really feel like going through a lot of effort to get this information but you know I will. You also know I can get the information easily. I've cracked a lot tougher nuts than you."

"What's the point of telling you? You're either going to kill me or get me arrested. You have no idea what the project is but I can tell you this. It's huge. And illegal."

"Good, we're getting somewhere. Why did you think Cas knew anything about it?"

"Usually, those in his position in Russia's network know something about it. Maybe your partner knows something about it?" Crowley said, glancing at Cas.

Dean and Cas turned away from Crowley to talk to each other for a moment.

"You don't think…"

"No, Dean. If Gabriel knew about something of this magnitude, he would have told me."

They turned back around.

"All right, Crowley, we've decided you're full of shit. Also, we decided you better tell us what you know," Dean decided.

"Fat chance, boys."

Dean decided now would be a good time for another punch to Crowley's face, right in the cheek.

"All right, you think about it. We'll be back."

Dean and Cas walked out of the garage followed closely by Charlie and Sam.

When the door shut, Dean asked Cas where Gabriel was.

"He texted, said he was waiting until that waitress's shift was over and then was going to go home with her. But he wishes us luck with Crowley," was Cas's answer that he delivered with a small smile. He was used to Gabriel's antics.

"What's our plan now?" Sam asked.

"Keep trying? He's gotta let something slip eventually," Dean suggested.

No one else could think of anything else but they weren't in any hurry. The four of them headed into the house to maybe find something to eat.

* * *

After a few hours relaxing inside, Dean and Cas decided to give another go at trying to get something from Crowley. Charlie and Sam stayed while the two headed back to the garage.

"Finally. Did you bring me some dinner?" was the first thing out of his mouth.

"Stop messing around, Crowley. We'll let you go if you tell us what you know," Cas said.

"Oh, you do speak. Well, I don't. Not when I don't want to."

Dean had brought back an array of knives from inside the house because his had been lost along the way of this whole ordeal.

Crowley just rolled his eyes.

"Just tell me one thing. Did Bobby know about the Angel Project?" Dean asked.

"Yes."

Dean didn't know what to make of that because he still didn't know what the project was.

"I'm guessing Alastair's in on it? Meg? Ruby? You just have an entire office of corruption and you were going to drag me into to it, too." Dean said furiously.

"Of course. Generally, that's how corruption works. You gradually drag more and more people down with you."

"Let me guess. Bobby found out about it. So, what? I'm supposed to believe he just happened to be killed by some serial killer and you got his job? Somehow, I think that's bullshit. What did you do to Bobby, Crowley?"

"I never touched him."

"That doesn't mean you didn't plan something," Cas jumped in.

"Right, I planned for a serial killer to get rid of Bobby for me then convinced Alastair to give me this job," Crowley said sarcastically.

When he said it like that, Dean knew it sounded ridiculous. But something wasn't adding up here.

"I still don't get how you got the job," Dean asked, perplexed.

"The CIA is a funny place, what can I tell you. Are you done whining that I stole your job? I should get going, I want dinner."

Dean strode over to Crowley and stabbed him in the thigh with one of the knives. Cas cringed, still feeling some pain in his own stab wound in his leg. Alastair's last cut to his stomach hurt too, so did his bullet wound in his calf. All of a sudden it was too much, he had strained himself, and his vision was going dark. He was falling backwards and the last thing he heard was Dean calling his name and then nothing.

**AN(Part 2): Please review! **


	22. Chapter 22

Cas fell to the floor, unconscious. Dean immediately ran over yelling his name.

"Oh dear, is he dead?" Crowley asked without a trace of concern.

"Shut up, Crowley!" Dean shouted. "Cas! You're fine, man, just wake up!" Cas still didn't move so Dean picked him up and carried him to the house.

"What the hell…" Sam asked.

"Just help, okay?" Dean answered. Sam did and they got Cas to the couch. "He just passed out, I think he needs rest. Right?" Dean hoped but he wasn't sure.

Sam and Charlie couldn't really offer reassuring words because they didn't know if Cas just overdid it or if it was something worse.

"Look, I need to get back to Crowley. Keep an eye on Cas and get me when he wakes up, okay?" Dean said with worry. He was being optimistic and Sam wasn't going to mention that "when" might not be the right word. To not make his brother feel worse, Sam just nodded.

After a long look at Cas, Dean headed back to the garage.

"So, is he going to make it? I'm worried," Crowley said with the same lack of emotion as Dean walked back in.

"Shut up," Dean spat. "Why did you think Cas knew about the project?"

"I can't tell you, you just told me to shut up."

"Which you're not doing anyways so I figured you could at least tell me something I want to hear and not waste my time."

"I told you, I thought he would know. Usually, people in his position know about the project."

"So, it's something that involves Russia and the US. Double agents?"

Crowley didn't say anything. Dean took that as confirmation.

"You're kidding me. You and Alastair are moles and probably Meg and Ruby, too? I'm honestly not surprised. You all are power hungry dicks who will go anywhere there's power or money."

Crowley still didn't say anything to confirm or deny Dean's accusations. It seemed to all be coming together. As far as Dean could tell, it made sense. Those four were snakes willing to do whatever they thought would help them achieve their means so this wasn't shocking if it was true.

"What about Bobby? I know he wasn't part of this. Did he find out? So you killed him?" Dean spoke quicker than his brain could catch up. The weight of his words slammed into him. "You killed him," Dean repeated.

"As I said, I didn't kill him. But, I know who did."

"Yeah, Dick Roman. Supposedly. But maybe he was acting under orders?"

"Not mine. Honestly. Alastair, he's the one in charge, he's the one you want. Dick was one of Russia's, their side of the project, okay? Alastair had him get rid of Bobby when he found out what we were doing," Crowley said in a rush.

"How do I know you're telling the truth? You could just be throwing Alastair under the bus for what you did."

"He's my boss, you know that. He's in charge of the Angel Project."

"Why should I trust anything you say?"

"God, no, don't. Don't trust anyone."

Dean needed a moment to let this sink in. Bobby was killed by a Russian spy and it was played off as a regular murder. Then, he helped arrest Dick Roman. Dean thought of something else.

"Why call it the Angel Project?"

"The double agents are basically heaven sent. Without them, neither side would get anything done," Crowley explained. Dean made a doubtful face. "Hey, I didn't name it."

"So, Cas and I are just caught up in this?"

"I thought he was a part of it and that I could get you to join. I was serious when I said you were a great agent. One of the best."

"Except you forget, I have a soul."

Crowley just shrugged, indifferent to the implication of being soulless.

"So, you knew about the plan to kill Bobby and you were a double agent, giving secrets to Russian intelligence? Same with Alastair, Meg and Ruby?"

Crowley didn't answer so Dean punched him in the face.

"Answer me!"

"Yes! I knew about it and gave away secrets, okay? But what does it matter, no one would believe you. It would be your word against mine. I would just say you're jealous I got promoted instead of you when Bobby died and you're trying to discredit me to get me fired and take my job."

"It's not going to be my word at all, yours is all that matters."

Crowley looked confused. Dean pulled his phone out of the front pocket of his white, button-up shirt from under his suit jacket.

"Did you get all of that, Rufus?" Dean said into the phone.

"Loud and clear. We're coming in," Rufus responded and hung up.

"See, when we had Garth cover for why you would be missing for a while, we also had him get in touch with Rufus from the FBI. Before I came back in after Cas passed out, I called Rufus. His team should be in any minute to take you away from a long, long time," Dean explained with a triumphant smirk.

Crowley looked downright murderous as Rufus and a team of FBI agents stormed in to grab him.

"Thanks, Rufus."

"My pleasure, Dean. Good to see you," Rufus said with a handshake to Dean as Crowley was hauled out.

Rufus left with his team and Dean headed to the house to check on Cas.

He was sitting up on the couch. He was still pale and looked unsteady as he drank water. Sam and Charlie were in chairs next to the couch.

"Dean," Cas said, smiling and immediately his whole demeanor changed. He sat up straighter and radiated happiness just from Dean being in the room.

"Hey, Cas. It's good to see you're okay," Dean said as he sat on the couch next to him.

"What happened? There was a huge commotion outside, are you okay?" Cas asked with worry.

"Yeah, I'm fine. I'm great, actually. The commotion was the FBI. They arrested Crowley. It's over, Cas."

* * *

_Two Months Later_

Dean and Cas were relaxing with their closest friends in their D.C. apartment. Sam and Jess were there, along with Charlie, Gabriel, Ellen and Jo.

Sam and Jess had been dating since the first day they met and Dean honestly never saw his brother so happy. Sam had already confided in Dean he could see himself with Jess for the rest of his life.

Ellen and Jo felt a little better with the closure of arresting the people actually responsible for Bobby's murder. It wouldn't bring him back, but the justice felt good.

"More beer?" Dean asked. There was a chorus of "yes's" and he headed to the kitchen to grab some. Cas followed him.

"I thought you could use some help," Cas said once they were away from everyone else.

Dean raised his eyebrows.

"All right, maybe I just wanted to be alone with you," Cas said with a smile.

"That's what I thought," Dean smirked.

They forget the beers and the others as Dean pulled Cas in for a kiss. Cas wrapped his arms over Dean's shoulders to get closer and deepen the kiss.

It was getting more passionate until there were shouts from the other room.

"Hey, what are you guys doing in there?" Sam yelled.

"Beeeeer," came from Gabriel.

"Don't do anything I wouldn't do," Jo added.

"Oh, leave them alone, it's their damn apartment," Ellen said, defending the pair.

Dean and Cas broke the kiss and couldn't help laughing.

They brought the beers back into the living room and cuddled up again on the couch. After that round, it was getting late so everyone decided to head out. Sam and Jess were heading back to Sam's apartment, Ellen and Jo went home and Gabriel said he had a fun night planned for himself but they didn't ask details.

Gabriel and Cas had moved to the US permanently and were working on getting citizenship. Cas was even considering joining the CIA. Charlie had applied to transfer to D.C. and it was just about finalized but until then she was in a hotel nearby.

With Crowley and Alastair fired, there were some openings. Dean had been promoted to Crowley's job and someone who had been at Crowley's level was promoted to Alastair. His name was Zachariah and Dean hoped he wasn't a dick.

Finally, Dean and Cas had their apartment to themselves. They started making out on the couch right after they said their final goodbyes for the night.

Cas broke the kiss and stood up, getting off the couch.

"You always got to make me work for it, dontcha Cas?" Dean groaned.

"Of course," Cas said. Then he winked and added, "Catch me if you can," and ran down the hall to their bedroom.

Dean smiled and followed. He would chase Cas anywhere.

**AN: I hope you enjoyed the story, it's been a blast writing it. Thank you for all of the positive feedback as this was my first fic and the support was very encouraging. Thanks for reading, the follows/favs and reviews!**

**This could have a sequel with Zachariah as the boss and Dean and Cas working in the CIA together, let me know what you think. Or maybe a prequel with more Dean chasing Cas from the beginning. **

**I already have some ideas for other fics so keep on the lookout if you like my writing. **


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